Bonds, Giants cash in Cain's gem
08/27/2006 8:24 PM ET
Bonds, Giants cash in Cain's gem
Slugger has three of SF's 15 hits to back righty's seven frames
By Coley Harvey / MLB.com
With his eighth K Sunday, Matt Cain moved into fifth on the Giants franchise
list for strikeouts in a season by a rookie pitcher. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)
SAN FRANCISCO -- Some rookie pitchers don't have 10-win seasons. Some rookie
pitchers can't throw 120 pitches each start and be able to lift their arms the
next day. Some rookie pitchers only dream to be a part of a playoff hunt.
Matt Cain is no ordinary rookie pitcher.
The 21-year-old had another strong outing Sunday afternoon, holding the Reds
scoreless through seven innings and helping the Giants to an 8-0 blowout win
at AT&T Park. The victory brings San Francisco to within two games of
Cincinnati's National League Wild Card lead.
"Before I met [Cain], I already knew him because of all the good things that
everybody was saying about him," manager Felipe Alou said. "Everything came to
be true. He's getting better every outing."
Part of that improvement comes from a sense of focus and purpose that Cain is
still learning.
"He realizes the importance of every pitch now, as opposed to a lot of pitches
that he didn't have much concentration on," Alou said. "I believe right now,
every time he throws a pitch to the plate, he has some thought behind it, some
strategy."
In a 122-pitch effort, the right-hander held the Reds to four hits, striking
out nine to give him 144 punchouts for the year. His eighth strikeout of the
game pushed him into fifth place on the Giants franchise list for strikeouts
in a season by a rookie pitcher.
Cain got off to a strong start when he eased through a 1-2-3 first inning,
which included his first two strikeouts of the game -- one to Ken Griffey Jr.
"I just really wanted to come out and establish the strike zone early, and I
was able to do that," Cain said.
But Griffey nearly nullified that beginning, as well as Cain's scoreless
outing in his next at-bat, when he roped a line drive into the cavernous 421-
foot right-center field alley at AT&T Park. The slugger popped career home run
No. 562 to the same part of the park Friday night.
Griffey's drive smacked off the top of the wall, some six inches from actually
clearing it. He was able to hustle into second base for a double, before two
more strikeouts stranded him there.
"Thankfully, good ballpark," Cain said of containing Griffey's shot. "It was a
changeup that I left up, and he just crushed it."
Cain's dazzling performance was aided by a big offensive day for the Giants.
Ray Durham's first-inning RBI single gave the Giants a quick 1-0 lead, and two
runs were plated the next inning when Pedro Feliz and Eliezer Alfonzo scored
on a bloop single by Omar Vizquel.
Shea Hillenbrand also had a big afternoon, going 3-for-4 with a double and two
RBIs. Hillenbrand, who was batting .228 entering Saturday's game, ended the
homestand with a .252 batting average and a four-game hitting streak (8-for-15
).
"I feel real comfortable right now," Hillenbrand said. "It's just one of those
things where baseball's crazy sometimes, and you go through some downs in the
season, and you pile that on some other things."
Alou has seen this type of production from Hillenbrand before, and he hopes
the infielder can carry it through the remainder of the season.
"The way he's swinging, we've seen that before," Alou said. "He could carry a
team for weeks."
Barry Bonds was another big offensive contributor. After receiving a day off
Saturday, the left fielder had a 3-for-3 afternoon Sunday, knocking a double
off the right-field wall and drawing his 100th walk of the season. It marks
the 13th time in his 21-year career that he's walked at least 100 times, tying
him with Babe Ruth for the most in Major League history.
Bonds was unavailable for comment after the game.
"[Bonds] looks pretty good out there, especially after an off-day," Alou said.
While Alou was more than pleased to see Bonds' two-single, one-double effort,
he understands that fans are also hoping to see the slugger dump a few balls
into McCovey Cove.
"Well, right now I don't believe he's getting pitches to hit homers," Alou
said. "He's getting pitches to do what he's doing now, and we need that. A
walk and a single is the same thing, but the single drives in runs."
Coley Harvey is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject
to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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嚴肅認真的COBRAS.......
幽默搞怪的COBRAS.......
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