Braves 4
Giants 2
WP: Smoltz
LP: Cain
Matt Cain needs a hug. Or a Nolan Ryan rookie card to remind him that even one of the greatest pitchers suffered a 10-14 record and couldn't find the strike zone for a while.
Cain was hit for the 4th start in a row, giving up 4 runs in 4.1 innings. Most of the damage was done by 3 walks and bases-clearing double in the first inning. While the ump was probably squeezing him, Cain could not locate with his fastball, normally the best of his pitches. Since nothing seemed wrong with his mechanics last night, I'm guessing something has gone wrong in his head. The lack of run support or his 3-12 record could be leading him to be too fine with his pitches. Hopefully he talks with someone and realizes that he shouldn't worry if guys might hit him if he pounds the zone.
Keep yo' chin up, kid.
Though the Giants offense probably couldn't get hits even if a Little League pitcher was facing them, John Smoltz was impressive on the mound. His slider was nasty, causing Ryno and Ray-Ray to strike out on pitches that skimmed the dirt. He was efficient as always, going 7 innings on 84 pitches.
Two bright spots of the Giants team was the bullpen and Mark Sweeney. Special Agent Jack Taschner and Dirty Sanchez combined for 4.2 innings of shutout ball. Taschner allowed one hit, one walk, and K'd one on 2.2 innings of work. No one on the Braves offense seemed to pick up on his fastball. Sanchez gave up 1 hit but struck out 2 over 2.0 innings of work.
In the 7th inning, Sweeney hit a double to center, giving him his 150th career pinch hit and tying Manny Mota for 2nd on the all-time list. He moved to third on Omar's single and scored on K-Franny's double play grounder. Sweeney trails only Lenny Harris for most pinch hits (212).
Giants 2
WP: Smoltz
LP: Cain
Matt Cain needs a hug. Or a Nolan Ryan rookie card to remind him that even one of the greatest pitchers suffered a 10-14 record and couldn't find the strike zone for a while.
Cain was hit for the 4th start in a row, giving up 4 runs in 4.1 innings. Most of the damage was done by 3 walks and bases-clearing double in the first inning. While the ump was probably squeezing him, Cain could not locate with his fastball, normally the best of his pitches. Since nothing seemed wrong with his mechanics last night, I'm guessing something has gone wrong in his head. The lack of run support or his 3-12 record could be leading him to be too fine with his pitches. Hopefully he talks with someone and realizes that he shouldn't worry if guys might hit him if he pounds the zone.
Keep yo' chin up, kid.
Though the Giants offense probably couldn't get hits even if a Little League pitcher was facing them, John Smoltz was impressive on the mound. His slider was nasty, causing Ryno and Ray-Ray to strike out on pitches that skimmed the dirt. He was efficient as always, going 7 innings on 84 pitches.
Two bright spots of the Giants team was the bullpen and Mark Sweeney. Special Agent Jack Taschner and Dirty Sanchez combined for 4.2 innings of shutout ball. Taschner allowed one hit, one walk, and K'd one on 2.2 innings of work. No one on the Braves offense seemed to pick up on his fastball. Sanchez gave up 1 hit but struck out 2 over 2.0 innings of work.
In the 7th inning, Sweeney hit a double to center, giving him his 150th career pinch hit and tying Manny Mota for 2nd on the all-time list. He moved to third on Omar's single and scored on K-Franny's double play grounder. Sweeney trails only Lenny Harris for most pinch hits (212).
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