SAN FRANCISCO — In an unsurprising turn of events, Matt Cain was recalled from the 15-day disabled list Monday afternoon, taking the roster spot of 25-year-old rookie Chris Stratton.
Cain landed on the disabled list May 28 with a right hamstring strain, leaving after just 26 pitches against the Rockies. He returns to the Giants on Monday without having made a rehab start, but was cleared by Giants trainers on Sunday.
Albert Suarez faired well in place of Cain, reaching the sixth inning in his only two major-league starts, allowing six runs over 11.1 innings. Suarez now returns to the bullpen, bumping Stratton back to Triple-A Sacramento. The young right-hander only appeared in three games out of the bullpen, but his last was the most memorable. On Saturday he allowed a 10th-inning, go-ahead home run to Adrian Gonzalez, the first batter he ever faced at AT&T Park. But his night ended with a beer shower and his first major-league win after the Giants scored two off Kenley Jansen in the bottom-half of the inning. He recovered to set down three of the next four hitters, and his poise didn’t go unnoticed.
“He could’ve gotten unraveled,” manager Bruce Bochy said after the game. “But he regrouped, kept his poise, and kept his one-run game and ended up getting a win out of it.”
Stratton will likely be back in the major leagues at some point, despite his unspectacular 6.02 ERA with the Rivercats in nine starts this year. For now, he’ll join Angel Pagan and the Rivercats for their game against Fresno tonight, and Bochy confirmed Stratton will rejoin the team’s starting rotation. Pagan is still expected back in the Giants’ lineup Wednesday, assuming he gets through Monday’s assignement unharmed.
The Giants (38-26) face the Brewers (30-33) at 7:15 p.m. in their only to San Francisco this year, and it’ll be Cain and Chase Anderson (4-6, 4.21 ERA) on the hill. It’s the four-year anniversary of Cain’s perfect game against the Astros, and lest we forget there’s also a basketball game being played in Oakland tonight.
Briefly:
-After leaving his Sunday night start with neck discomfort, Jake Peavy was working again on the issue with trainers Monday. Bochy expects Peavy to be fine for his next start, but it’s still a situation worth eyeing. He’s pitched extremely well in his last four outings.
-Santiago Casilla pitched every game of the Dodgers series, and has thrown in the Giants’ last five games. Bochy wants to stray from using his closer for a sixth straight game, but said he still needed to check in with him. Cory Gearrin is another reliever he’d like to avoid, if possible.
-Amid rumors about the Giants’ interest in Brewers outfielder Ryan Bruan, Bochy addressed if the team had pursued avenues to make the lineup “less left-handed.” He said bringing up Mac Williamson was the first step in that, but he’s only 5-for-30 in 14 games this year. The manager continued, saying: “We’ve talked about some different things, especially a right-handed bat.”
There’s no question that Braun would fit into the Giants’ plans, but it doesn’t seem entirely realistic. The Giants aren’t usually keen on parting with their best minor league talent, especially arms like Tyler Beede or Phil Bickford. Given how the last week has played out, the Giants seem to be leaning on minor league signings to bolster their position player situation.
Here’s tonight’s lineups:
Giants lineup against Chase Anderson
CF – Denard Span (L)
2B – Joe Panik (L)
1B – Brandon Belt (L)
C – Buster Posey
3B – Matt Duffy
SS – Brandon Crawford (L)
LF – Jarrett Parker (L)
RF – Gregor Blanco (L)
RHP – Matt Cain
Brewers lineup against Matt Cain
SS – Jonathan Villar (S)
2B – Scooter Gennet (L)
LF – Ryan Braun
C – Jonathan Lucroy
1B – Chris Carter
CF – Kirk Nieuwenhuis (L)
3B – Aaron Hill
RF – Ramon Flores (L)
RHP – Chase Anderson