San Francisco Giants Recap; Giants 2, Dodgers 6

San Francisco Giants Recap: Giants 2, Dodgers 6

SF 020 000 000         2 8 0
LA 000 002 22x         6 9 1

Cain 5.0+IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO
Greinke 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 SO

Sometime you go into a series or with high expectations. My expectation at about the 5th inning of the game would be that the Giants have a chance to sweep a four game series against L.A. if Bochy yanks Matt Cain after the fifth inning. This didn’t happen and I have to write about a loss.

May 10, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher

(18) pitches the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

If you watched the CSN broadcast, Mike Kruckow throughout the fourth and fifth inning stated that there was something wrong with Matt Cain. I noticed this and so did my wife and many people on twitter. For a fast ball pitcher he wasn’t able to control the ball. The Giants were up 2-0 when the bottom of the sixth started. If Cain were yanked and the bullpen was put in then, Cain “could have” potentially earned a win. Hindsight is 20/20 and this obviously didn’t happen but, there would have been a better chance of winning the game as evidenced by Cain’s early struggles.

What went right?

Matt Cain was able to get through 5 innings without giving up a run and this includes early troubles in the first inning. Dee Gordon hit a leadoff singled to right field. Gordon proceeded to steal second. After Yasiel Puig struck out and Hanley Ramirez was at bat, Gordon stole third. Cain hit Ramirez that put runners on the corners for Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez struck out swinging. The Matt Kemp flied out harmless to the Hunter Pence. Cain cruised through the next four innings by only allowing a walk to fellow pitcher Zack Greinke. However, the outs that Cain got were mostly from great defense.

What went wrong?

The defense failed Cain in the sixth. Dee Gordon singled to leadoff the inning. He then, stole second base with Puig batting. Puig hit a popup that would have been caught by a left fielder but, it landed between Morse and the center field for a base hit. It also advanced Gordon to third base. After Hector Sanchez missed catching a foul pop up from Hanley Ramirez, Cain walked him to load the bases. So to recap, while the Puig popup and the Ramirez foul pop up were not errors it cost them outs and the Dodgers took advantage.

Jeremy Affeldt came in and got a double play that scored Gordon. The next batter was Matt Kemp would singled up the middle to tie the game at 2. Affeldt was able to retire the next hitter to end the inning.

Affeldt stayed in the game to pitch the seventh inning. He retired the first batter but, allowed a doulbe to Drew Butera. The next batter grounded out to move Butera to third but, Dee Gordon hit a double past Pablo Sandoval (who was in to avoid a bunt hit). This scored Butera. Puig came up and hit a double down the left field line to score Gordon.

Missed Opportunities

The Giants loaded the bases in the first inning and was not able to cash in a run. With runners at second and third and less than two outs Michael Morse struck out swinging. Hector Sanchez walked to load the bases but, Pablo Sandoval struck out swinging to end the inning.

With two outs and runners at 1st and 2nd, Hector Sanchez hit a weak ground out to end the inning.

In the eighth inning, Brian Wilson came in to pitch. Pablo Sandoval got a base hit on the first pitch. Two batters later, Brandon Hicks singled to the left fielder. Two batters later, Angel Pagan walked to load the bases for Hunter Pence. Pence popped out to the catcher to end the inning.

Whats up next?

Tim Hudson will face off against Clayton Kershaw tomorrow afternoon. This is going to be a low scoring affair. If the Giants win they take the series, if they lose, they split the series. Either way the Giants have a winning road trip!

1st Star of the Game: Dee Gordon
2nd Star of the Game: Zack Greinke
3rd Star of the Game: Matt Kemp