Matt Cain tosses gem as San Francisco Giants best Padres 7-1, win series

Jul 22, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain (18) pitches during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

You know the old saying “sometimes you’re the tiger and sometimes you’re the lunch?” Wednesday’s Giants game reminded me of that. I kept thinking any time the Padres would strap on some bibs and tuck into the Giants like they were the daily blue plate special.

But that was before the Brandons hit home runs, and the rest of the Giants did what Giants do…

Like Matt Cain. He was on the mound for the Giants and he was like the Matt Cain of old. His pitches either ended up as strikes or fly balls, and in the second inning, one went over the fence. A fly ball, that is. But it was the only run he allowed on five hits in six innings pitched. He fanned six Padres before George Kontos replaced him in the seventh.

The Giants faced James Shields‒the pitcher formerly known as Big Game James‒and he was pretty stingy. He pitched five innings, giving up only three hits and three walks while striking out seven. The Giants were getting nowhere fast. But he reached his pitch limit and the Padres brought a new pitcher in to pitch the sixth.

That’s when the Giants made their move.

Brandon Belt did anyway. With two out and a 3-2 count, Belt sent one over the center field wall, tying the score.

The Giants scored three more in the seventh‒Angel Pagan singled, Matt Duffy walked and Buster Posey doubled, plating both. Hunter Pence singled Buster home.

They scored another three in the eighth‒Brandon Crawford hit a solo home run, Gregor Blanco doubled, Justin Maxwell brought him home with a single, then Angel Pagan reached on a fielder’s choice, sending Maxwell to the dugout. Joe Panik drew a walk and Matt Duffy hit a single, scoring Pagan.

The final score was: Giants 7, Padres 1

I told you all that so I could say this: the Giants won. They’ve won five out of six since coming back from the All-Star break. This is the time when the rest of the world talks about possibilities. Phrases like: “first place”, “games back” and “wild card” get tossed around like birdseed after a wedding.

We would do well, however, to remember the wise words of the best skipper in the bigs, Bruce Bochy, who said: “this is baseball, anything can happen.”

This has been a good road trip. It’s nice to sit back and enjoy the ride. Especially when the Giants are driving.