San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: Cain Shaky, but Offense Backs Him Up

On this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we discuss Cain’s shaky return, the offense showing some firepower, and another minor league signing.

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Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Monday, the Giants opened up a three-game set with the Milwaukee Brewers with an 11-5 win, extending their modest winning streak to three games. Albert Suarez was the winner for the second time, and Corey Knebel took the loss. Derek Law earned his first career big league save.

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday, meaning the Giants’ lead in the division extends to a season-high six games.

Here’s what went on Monday.

1 – Matt Cain Shaky in Return to Mound

After missing about two and a half weeks with a strained hamstring, Matt Cain made his return to the mound for the Giants on Monday, and it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the Horse. He lasted just 3.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and five walks before giving way to his bullpen.

Though the numbers are not pretty at all, I don’t think Cain pitched quite as poorly as those numbers suggest. His curveball looked as sharp as it has in a long time, and even though his fastball command was not where it was prior to the injury, he was pitching to a terribly tight strike zone that clearly frustrated him at multiple points. In one particular instance, Cain had four borderline pitches go against him in a single plate appearance, leading to a bases-loaded walk for Chris Carter.

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Still, those are the kind of things that Cain needs to work through if he wants to become a solid, consistent starting option for the Giants again.

The injury itself was terrible timing, as Cain was just finding his groove in the rotation for the Giants. He was coming off three really strong outings prior to going down, and after the time spent away, he will need to work again to be more consistent with his release point.

2 – Offense Picks up Cain

With their starter struggling and not making it deep in the game, the Giants’ offense had to pick up the slack. And boy, did they ever. The sleepy offense exploded for 11 runs, their first double-digit output since May 28th at Coors Field (first time at home since April 27th), and collected more than 10 hits for the first time since May 29th.

Denard Span got things started on the third pitch of the ballgame. Span crushed a Chase Anderson fastball over the right field wall and eventually into McCovey Cove, giving the Giants their 70th Splash Hit less than a week after number 69. It was the first of Span’s three hits.

Joe Panik added two hits, including a triple, and a walk. Brandon Belt added two hits and a sacrifice fly, plus two RBI. Buster Posey reached base four times, including an RBI double, single, walk, and a hit-by-pitch. Matt Duffy collected three hits and two RBI, extending his personal hitting streak to a season-high seven games. Brandon Crawford drove in three runs. Gregor Blanco broke a miserable slump with a two-run single. Even Jarrett Parker, the only starter in the lineup to not collect a hit, drew two walks.

3 – Giants Sign Ruben Tejada

The Giants have made it a point in recent days to add organizational depth, and they continued that trend on Monday by adding infielder Ruben Tejada on a minor league deal. The 26-year-old shortstop, who also has experience at second and third base, will start his tenure in the system with the Triple-A River Cats.

In my opinion, this is a great pickup for the Giants. With Hak-Ju Lee opting out of his contract earlier this month, the team has an open shortstop spot in Triple-A, and that’s where Tejada should slot in. He’s a right-handed hitter, which will be a good asset for the left-handed heavy Giants, if he gets the call at some point.

He’s got a ton of experience, with 603 games in seven big league season. He’s already got fans in just about every big league city, after his emotional showing at the trade deadline last season, and his meeting with Chase Utley at second base in the NLDS last year.

Given his age and experience, the Giants may have gotten themselves a nice ballplayer. As he continues to work himself back into baseball shape after his broken leg last year, Tejada might be one of those under-the-radar pickups that make their name down the stretch for the Giants. And of course, being a minor league pact with no guarantees, there’s no risk involved with the deal.

Next: Giants Morning Minute: Urias Good, Peavy Better

And that will do it for another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. Up next, the Giants and Brewers do battle again, with Madison Bumgarner taking the ball for the orange and black. For Milwaukee, Matt Garza will make his season debut after missing the first two-plus months with a lat injury.

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