For the first time this spring the San Francisco Giants have hit a rut in their Cactus League schedule as they lost their third game in a row today against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by a score of 8-0. It was their most one-sided loss of the preseason, and happened at a very inopportune time as the regular season starts a week from tomorrow. Yet despite their recent slide, the Giant still hold the best record in the Cactus League at 18-8.
Matt Cain really struggled today, giving up 5 runs on 7 hits in just 3 innings of work, which included a 3 run bomb by Bobby Abreu in the first. Cain not only struggled with his control, he also had an error on a poor pickoff attempt in the third inning. Here’s what Giants beat writer Hank Schulman tweeted about Cain’s performance:
[Cain] said outside fastballs were riding back over plate, a rhythm issue. Thought Abreu hit good pitch for HR.
His replacement Steve Edlefsen didn’t fair too well either, giving up another two runs in the fourth. But Santaigo Casilla had a nice showing, striking out 2 of the 3 batters he faced and now has 8 shutout appearances this spring. Casilla will be a leading candidate for closer if Brian Wilson misses opening day with his left oblique strain.
As for the Giants offense, there wasn’t much to speak of. Andres Torres hit a triple in the third, the only extra base hit for the Giants all day.
In injury news Cody Ross strained his right calf while attempting a running catch in right field and limped off the field. It is still uncertain what the severity of the injury is yet, and probably won’t know until tomorrow at the earliest. The other Giants injury everyone is keeping a close eye on is Brain Wilson, who did some throwing today, but apparently had to back off from his session and didn't feel as good as he'd hoped according to skipper Bruce Bochy, not exactly what he has hoping for I’m sure.
Tomorrow the Giants will travel to Sunrise, Arizona to take on the Kansas City Royals at Sunrise Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for a 6:05 p.m. start and can be seen on MLB Network.