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San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Home with the Padres

By Sean Bialaszek

Apr 29, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain (18) pitches the ball against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 29, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain (18) pitches the ball against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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The San Francisco Giants dropped two of three to the San Diego Padres, so let’s look at some positives and negatives from the series.

San Francisco Giants
Apr 29, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Cin (18) pitches the ball against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

For the start of the new season, this is something I will do after each San Francisco Giants’ series. These articles will take three positive things (3 Up) and three negative things (3 Down) from the games, this time from the Giants’ first series at home with the San Diego Padres.

1 – Matt Cain Comeback Train Keeps On Rolling

Yeah, so that was a really bad month. But even the most downtrodden of Giants’ fans have to be happy to watch Matt Cain’s continued resurgence. He put together another strong start, his fourth in a row, on Friday against the San Diego Padres. He allowed just one run through five innings, and though he wasn’t as economical which his pitches as his last few starts, he worked through six singles to keep the Padres to just that single run. He also struck out seven, the most he’s tallied yet this season.

Cain’s ERA for the month of April was 2.30, the ninth-best mark in the National League. The last time he made five or more starts in a calendar month and put up a sub-three ERA was September of 2012, the last time Cain was a truly effective, top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher. He’s truly been a pleasant surprise for a team that, as a whole, has been an unpleasant sight.

2 – The Wonderkid

It didn’t take Christian Arroyo very long at all to endear himself to Giants’ fans. After a great career-opening series against the Dodgers, Arroyo kept it going against the Padres. On Friday, with the game tied in the eighth inning, Arroyo hit the second home run of his young career, breaking the three-all score and leading the Giants to victory.

Arroyo is still learning the ropes at the big league level, and didn’t have a huge series (he went 2-13), but he doesn’t look overmatched playing against players who are a decade or more older. The future is bright for the Wonderkid.

3 – April’s Over

April showers bring May flowers, right?

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