Right Me Up

Don't look now, but the Giants are only 5 games out of first in the West and riding a 7 road-game win streak, the longest since 2004. There's something to be said about the increasingly abysmal Western Division and the national emergency that are the Nats, but I'll take hot-weather hitting and sweeps any time.


The Sick Man of Major League Baseball

This was by far the Giants' best series of the season. For once, strong starting pitching combined with timely hits to get Matt Cain his third win, who showed marked improvement from his last time out.

6/4 vs NYM: 5 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR

6/9 @ WSN: 6.1 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR

Cain's one Achilles heel has been lack of control, especially with his fastball--walking one too many batters and then serving up the long bomb. Last night, we saw him pitch to contact using a mix of pitches, resulting in a few more hits but three extra strikeouts to strand runners.

It also helps to have a guy like Yabu waiting in the bullpen to clean up the bases via one-pitch double-plays in the seventh inning.

If we thought that Brian Wilson's previous saves were terrifying, those were nothing compared to last night's 4-out thriller. Wilson preserved a 1-run lead in the 8th by getting a flyball to end a bases-loaded situation, and then cleaned up the 9th despite a throwing error by Castillo. He's now in the top 10 among relievers in WPA, with the likes of Joe Nathan and Mariano Rivera, with a 1.87.