Headdesk: Why Does Matt Cain Always Get the Short End of the Run Game

Question: Which pitcher gets tagged with a loss in a 6-0 game?

Pitcher A: 6 IP, 3.71 ERA, 1 H, 6 K, 0 BB
Pitcher B: 6 IP, 5.40 ERA, 4 H, 5 K, 0BB










Answer: Pitcher A, Matt Cain.

That statline says it all. Cain pitches another gem, his only blemish being a questionable triple by Adrian Gonzalez. The Giants, fielding the veteran lineup with two weeks left in a meaningless season, fail to provide any run support despite facing Brett Freakin' Tomko. After failing to score any runs with the bases loaded and one out, the Giants bullpen gives up 5 runs to put the game out of reach. Now the 6-0 loss makes it look as if Cain had imploded in the third inning.

All of his starts versus San Diego this season have resulted in losses.

4/4 3-5
4/9 0-1 (L)
6/27 2-4 (L)
8/3 3-4

Totals (not including tonight's): 28 IP, 18 H, 8 ER, 9 BB, 28 K, 2.57 ERA, .96 WHIP, .188 BAA. 0-2 record. 8 runs of support.

Though Cain doesn't have enough starts left to potentially reach 20 losses (thank God), his season is comparable to these 4 unlucky pitchers. As of now, Cain is sitting on 15 losses while maintaining a 117 ERA+. These four pitchers all have 20 losses, all with an ERA+ over 115:

Player	Year	Team	ERA+
Kaiser Wilhelm	1908	Brooklyn Superbas	124
Eppa Rixey	1917	Philadelphia Phillies	124
Bobo Newsom	1934	St. Louis Browns	124
Turk Farrell	1962	Houston Colt ’45s	124

If Cain had 5 more starts, would his record look like these guys'? Probably, but I'm glad that we won't have to find out.