Matt Cain: 5 Reasons Why He Will Rebound Against Los Angeles Dodgers
By zacklosel
# 2 – Gonzalez, Crawford, Ellis, & Ramirez All Injured
As fans of this great game we call baseball, its usually deemed disrespectful to wish bad luck or injury on other players we may not like, for whatever reason.
However, when it comes to a longstanding, deep rivalry that goes back over a full century – such as this very Giants-Dodgers rivalry – some fans have no problem pushing that little unspoken rule aside. And that’s the exact position many Giants fans will be put in for the remainder of this three-game series.
Apr 26, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain (18) prior to the game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
In what could be taken as a stroke of luck, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Mark Ellis will all miss at least some time from the lineup due to varying types of injury. Hanley Ramirez came out of Friday’s game with a left a hamstring injury, and, according to Dodgers’ manager Don Mattingly, he could be out for a while. He is heading to the DL.
Now, we don’t like to see anyone get hurt, because at the end of the day, its just a game. But this news couldn’t have come at a better time, as the four have a career .301 average, with five home runs and 17 RBI against Cain. Gonzalez himself is a Giant killer batting .317 and slugging .603 off Cain. Gonzalez accounts for more than half of the Dodger’s home runs (seven) against him with four, and has driven in the most of all Dodgers as well. He knows how to work the count when Cain is on the mound, but he also has the most strikeouts on the team against him (16). Ellis and Crawford also have more than decent numbers against the “horse,” and even Ramirez hits Cain better than Kemp.
With them all most likely out of the lineup (besides some possible pinch-hitting appearances by Crawford, who had a hit in Friday’s Giant’s walk-off victory) for Cain’s start on Sunday, it gives him extra room to shut down the club’s arch-rival for a second time this season.