The starting pitchers for the San Francisco Giants were in need of a boost lately after having a string of somewhat lack-luster starts as of late. But Matt Cain broke the cycle today, pitching a sensational complete game while holding the Washington Nationals to only one run as the Giants went on to win by a score of 3-1 at AT&T Park.
Cain (W 5-4) gave up only five hits throughout the game, while striking out an impressive 11 Nationals while walking only one. The lone run came from an RBI double from Rick Ankiel in the seventh, stranding the other five runners on base. Cain also had 22 first pitch strikes of 33 batters he faced, while 78 of his 110 pitches were for strikes.
As for the offense Matt Cain helped himself out with a RBI double in the sixth, then the Giants added two more in the seventh off of a Brandon Crawford RBI triple followed by a Eli Whiteside RBI single. Crawford and Whiteside were the only two Giants to have multiple hits for the game, both finishing 2-3.
Yunesky Maya was solid in his six innings of work for the Nats, allowing only one run on four hits, with one walk and one punch out. Sean Burnett (L 1-3) was tagged for the loss after his inning of relief in the seventh.
With the win the Giants move to 35-27 on the year. Full box score can be found here.
The Giants will begin their series with the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday at AT&T Park, with first pitch set for 7:15 p.m. PT. Madison Bumgarner (2-7 3.42 ERA) will take the mound to face Johnny Cueto (2-2 2.27 ERA), with coverage on CSN Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM.