SAN FRANCISCO -- It appears Giants pitcher Matt Cain's rookie season is over now.
When you throttle National League West-leading San Diego, 8-2, as he did Friday night at AT&T Park and hold the Padres scoreless until the ninth inning, you can toss that freshman label aside.
That kid is a veteran now.
At 21 years and nearly 10 months old with 25 Major League games under his belt, Cain sports a five-game winning streak, has kept batters at around a .170 average over his last 12 games and helped move San Francisco on Friday to within a half-game of the Friars
Rookie, my eye.
Manager Felipe Alou said it best: "Every time out, we expect him to win."
Friday's win was monumental, as it stretched the Giants' winning streak to a season-high four games. Suddenly, San Francisco is making a long-awaited run for the division's top spot, with the offense revving up ever since a team meeting Tuesday.
The Giants rang up a four-run first inning against longtime nemesis Jake Peavy, with Mark Sweeney highlighting the rally with a two-run single, and the Giants would continue to hit well, as Ray Durham cracked a two-run triple in the fourth.
Still, there was a scary development in the first inning when Barry Bonds was hit by a pitch that ricocheted off his left quadriceps, just above his already compromised left knee.
He continued to play, but after singling in the third inning, Bonds hobbled to first in pain and walked off the field with the severe bruise.
Bonds is listed as day-to-day.
As for Cain, it was a wonderous game through 8 2/3 innings, coming within one out of throwing his second shutout of the year. Two runs would eventually score, but Cain proved once again he's hardly a babe in the woods, even though it's merely his second season.
This, frankly, is the biggest series of the year, a head-to-head duel with the chief divisional adversary, and Cain was cool and efficient nevertheless.
"It's awesome having the three-game winning streak and knowing I'm coming up and trying to get the fourth," he said of his own attitude. "It's good to try to keep it going.
"I can't complain," he said of Friday's contest. "I felt good fastball-wise today -- fastball, changeup, curve -- and while we didn't throw any sliders, but I felt good throwing the fastball."
Cain struck out five Friars and walked only one, losing the shutout when Khalil Greene hammered a two-run homer in the ninth.
The rookie pitcher contributed to his own cause with a single and double, the first multihit game of his career.
Cain admits he still feels like a fledgling, especially when umpires squeeze the strike zone, forcing him to prove he can hit the bull's-eye frequently.
For the most part, he can.
"You just keep battling and earn it -- you just keep pumping strikes," said Cain.
Shortstop Omar Vizquel, who went 3-for-5 with a double, triple and two RBIs, is now batting .312 in his last 52 games.
The veteran is jazzed by the club's four-game streak and likes the fact the Giants acquired .300 hitter and first baseman Shea Hillenbrand on Friday.
"I think the [team is stronger]," he said. "Anytime you get a guy like that who can hit for power and average is really good. He's a solid, consistent hitter, and we're going to need a guy like that."
Vizquel was one of the first Giants to push for better, spirited play, and Tuesday's team meeting apparently has made the competitive juices bubble.
"I think the starting pitching has been looking good, and the lineup has been looking better," said Vizquel. "Everybody's been contributing to score a lot of runs, everybody's been scoring a lot of runs."
Peavy's luck apparently ran out against the Giants. He had a 5-1 record and 1.82 ERA against them since 2004 but struggled vs. other teams. Not Friday, as the right-hander allowed nine hits and seven runs over only four innings.
Steve Finley was in the leadoff spot for the third game this season and once again produced with a first-inning single off Peavy. Over those contests, he's batting .467 with four runs, a homer and an RBI.
"Hopefully, we can keep rolling," said Finley. "[Against Peavy] it's the same approach we've had before, we just haven't gotten the hits when we've needed them. But we got them tonight and got some good knockout blows."
When you throttle National League West-leading San Diego, 8-2, as he did Friday night at AT&T Park and hold the Padres scoreless until the ninth inning, you can toss that freshman label aside.
That kid is a veteran now.
At 21 years and nearly 10 months old with 25 Major League games under his belt, Cain sports a five-game winning streak, has kept batters at around a .170 average over his last 12 games and helped move San Francisco on Friday to within a half-game of the Friars
Rookie, my eye.
Manager Felipe Alou said it best: "Every time out, we expect him to win."
Friday's win was monumental, as it stretched the Giants' winning streak to a season-high four games. Suddenly, San Francisco is making a long-awaited run for the division's top spot, with the offense revving up ever since a team meeting Tuesday.
The Giants rang up a four-run first inning against longtime nemesis Jake Peavy, with Mark Sweeney highlighting the rally with a two-run single, and the Giants would continue to hit well, as Ray Durham cracked a two-run triple in the fourth.
Still, there was a scary development in the first inning when Barry Bonds was hit by a pitch that ricocheted off his left quadriceps, just above his already compromised left knee.
He continued to play, but after singling in the third inning, Bonds hobbled to first in pain and walked off the field with the severe bruise.
Bonds is listed as day-to-day.
As for Cain, it was a wonderous game through 8 2/3 innings, coming within one out of throwing his second shutout of the year. Two runs would eventually score, but Cain proved once again he's hardly a babe in the woods, even though it's merely his second season.
This, frankly, is the biggest series of the year, a head-to-head duel with the chief divisional adversary, and Cain was cool and efficient nevertheless.
"It's awesome having the three-game winning streak and knowing I'm coming up and trying to get the fourth," he said of his own attitude. "It's good to try to keep it going.
"I can't complain," he said of Friday's contest. "I felt good fastball-wise today -- fastball, changeup, curve -- and while we didn't throw any sliders, but I felt good throwing the fastball."
Cain struck out five Friars and walked only one, losing the shutout when Khalil Greene hammered a two-run homer in the ninth.
The rookie pitcher contributed to his own cause with a single and double, the first multihit game of his career.
Cain admits he still feels like a fledgling, especially when umpires squeeze the strike zone, forcing him to prove he can hit the bull's-eye frequently.
For the most part, he can.
"You just keep battling and earn it -- you just keep pumping strikes," said Cain.
Shortstop Omar Vizquel, who went 3-for-5 with a double, triple and two RBIs, is now batting .312 in his last 52 games.
The veteran is jazzed by the club's four-game streak and likes the fact the Giants acquired .300 hitter and first baseman Shea Hillenbrand on Friday.
"I think the [team is stronger]," he said. "Anytime you get a guy like that who can hit for power and average is really good. He's a solid, consistent hitter, and we're going to need a guy like that."
Vizquel was one of the first Giants to push for better, spirited play, and Tuesday's team meeting apparently has made the competitive juices bubble.
"I think the starting pitching has been looking good, and the lineup has been looking better," said Vizquel. "Everybody's been contributing to score a lot of runs, everybody's been scoring a lot of runs."
Peavy's luck apparently ran out against the Giants. He had a 5-1 record and 1.82 ERA against them since 2004 but struggled vs. other teams. Not Friday, as the right-hander allowed nine hits and seven runs over only four innings.
Steve Finley was in the leadoff spot for the third game this season and once again produced with a first-inning single off Peavy. Over those contests, he's batting .467 with four runs, a homer and an RBI.
"Hopefully, we can keep rolling," said Finley. "[Against Peavy] it's the same approach we've had before, we just haven't gotten the hits when we've needed them. But we got them tonight and got some good knockout blows."
