The tides are finally turning for San Francisco.
Facing the Dodgers for the third series this month, the Giants continued to flash signs of their old selves. They combined timely hitting with dominant pitching and survived the usual ninth inning drama to beat Los Angeles 8-4 for their fourth straight win on Monday, thanks in huge part to their No. 5 guy.
Cue Matt Cain, the longest tenured member of the Giants and the one rumored most likely to lose his spot at the start of spring training. Fast forward to now and he may just be the most reliable pitcher on staff.
Cain (3-1) provided the Giants with yet another solid outing, tossing 6.2 innings of five-hit ball and allowing just one earned run. His only mistake came on a 1-1 pitch to Yasmani Grandal in the third, who promptly sent one into the gap for a double, scoring Corey Seager. He lowered his ERA to 4.04, and now possesses the lowest ERA of the Giants rotation.
Cain also surpassed the 2,000 career innings mark, making him the first pitcher to do so while pitching only for the Giants since Gaylord Perry in 1970. He also picked up his 60th career win at home, edging out Tim Lincecum (59) as the winningest pitcher at AT&T.
The Giants utilized a defensive miscue from Los Angeles to take the lead for good in the fourth. Brandon Crawford lined a 1-1 pitch from McCarthy past Chase Utley, scoring Brandon Belt and moving Buster Posey to third. Both Posey and Crawford would score the next play, thanks to an Eduardo Nunez single up the middle, and a misplayed cut-off throw by McCarthy. Nunez would score courtesy of a Christian Arroyo sac fly to top off a four-run inning.
The Giants tacked on an insurance run in the sixth when Mac Williamson, who was called up early Monday after the Giants lost Hunter Pence (hamstring) to the 10-day DL, singled in Christian Arroyo. Buster Posey provided one more when his sixth homer of the month landed just over the left field wall in the seventh. Nunez would double in Crawford shortly after to make it 8-1.
Posey’s power surge has played a key role in the Giants turnaround — in the month of April he had hit just one home run. In his last seven games, he’s hit five.
Lead-off man Denard Span drove in Williamson for the Giants first run of the game in the third. It’s safe to say the Giants have missed Span — since coming back from the disabled list Thursday, he is 10-26 with two home runs.
The Dodgers tagged the Giants bullpen for three runs in the top of the ninth, but Derek Law struck out Joc Pederson to end the game in typical torture fashion.
The Giants will look to make it five straight on Tuesday when Ty Blach faces a Dodgers team that, much like the Giants, is still trying to find it’s rhythm. Los Angeles has yet to announce their starter. First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m.