Cain's gem helps Giants quiet Rockies
09/14/2006 7:46 PM ET
Cain's gem helps Giants quiet Rockies
Rookie right-hander continues September dominance
By Coley Harvey / MLB.com
Matt Cain threw eight innings of two-hit ball as the Giants snatched the
rubber game. (Ben Margot/AP)
SAN FRANCISCO -- Matt Cain is one flirtatious guy. But no ladies, not in that
sense.
Cain, the Giants' 21-year-old rookie starter, flirted once again with the
nine-inning tango known as a no-hitter Thursday afternoon, and if it hadn't
been for another high pitch count, and a meager two base hits, he would have
gotten one.
The right-hander tossed a scoreless eight innings and helped in San
Francisco's 5-0 victory over Colorado at AT&T Park.
"That's some kind of pitcher, eh?" manager Felipe Alou half-sarcastically
asked before beginning his postgame press conference.
"That's what I call controlling the game, and he's done it so many starts now.
"
The Giants' win, combined with a San Diego victory and Los Angeles loss,
allowed San Francisco to move to within three games of the Dodgers in the
National League West. The Giants remain 2 1/2 games behind the Padres in the
NL Wild Card race.
"It definitely is [exciting] to be doing this now," Cain said. "Because every
game counts. Every game counted before, but it seems like now everybody is
really watching the scoreboard. We're watching what everybody's doing, and
every win has an effect right now."
He's proven that logic lately. In his previous four starts, Cain had posted a
0.31 ERA and a 3-0 mark. During that stretch, he also struck out 28.
Alou said Cain's recent impressive numbers have been duly noted, and that they
are a direct result of changes Cain has made to his pitching approach. Alou
highlighted Cain's adjustments to a mediocre curveball that's become even more
enticing to hitters.
"Yeah, he's getting there," Alou said. "Because of that curveball -- he's
getting it so close to the strike zone they have to swing at it. They would
zero in on his fastball most of the time, so now they have to worry about the
curve and the slider ... and the fastball."
Cain's also worked on his pitch counts. This has become a concern throughout
the year for Alou, who's been hoping to protect his right-hander's arm from
overuse. But despite the heightened pitch numbers, the rookie seems to be one
of the healthiest pitchers on the staff.
"Before, there were so many questions about, 'Is he going to be OK pitching in
September, with all those innings?'" Alou said.
The adjustments have paid off. On Thursday, Cain, who's become notorious this
season for reaching the 100-pitch mark in the sixth inning, tossed 118 pitches
to shut down the Rockies for eight innings.
Cain was asked if he felt like the Giants' ace.
"I don't know, that's a strong word right there, especially with this team --
a team full of veterans," Cain said.
With Jason Schmidt questionable for his start Friday, and the struggling,
up-and-down seasons of Noah Lowry and Matt Morris, Cain may be the guy for San
Francisco. One veteran player, Omar Vizquel, however, was slow to slap the
moniker on the kid.
"It's hard to be the ace when you're that young, but obviously, he has been
throwing the ball real good, and has been unstoppable in the second half,"
Vizquel said.
The first-year pitcher -- who now leads National League rookies with 13 wins
this season -- got some offensive help Thursday from a young position player
in Kevin Frandsen.
Frandsen, who broke his jaw a month ago after getting hit in the face by a
pitch, started his first game since the injury. Frandsen started at second
base over Ray Durham, who hurt his hip Wednesday but is expected back Friday,
according to Alou.
"When we got him that one run in the sixth, I was pretty confident with just
that, the way [Cain] was throwing the ball, and the swings they were taking
off him," Frandsen said.
But apparently, the infielder really didn't think that 1-0 lead was enough,
because in the bottom of the seventh inning, he started a four-run two-out
rally that helped the Giants coast to the victory.
Pedro Feliz began the inning with a single into left-center field. He scored
on Frandsen's double that hugged the left-field line. Before the inning was
all said and done -- six batters later -- the Giants had drawn three walks and
batted around.
"He went to the same pitching sequence that he did before," Frandsen said of
the double. "I kind of looked for a pitch and got it."
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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