The second back-to-back quality start by Matt Cain was wasted when the offense failed to produce anything for him. After being shutout 2-0 last night, the Giants will not sweep or be swept again and instead will either win or lose the series at Los Angeles.
Cain did everything right to deserve a win, but the offense just did not give him any runs. He spread out eight hits over seven innings of work while striking out eight batters. He allowed two runs, one was earned because of a strange play that was ruled an error. The second run was scored after the umpires called back a tag at the plate, and rewarded Dodgers third baseman Casey Blake a ground-rule double which was apparently justified after Fred Lewis committed an error by deflecting a grounder out of bounds. That was just one of those horrible calls that allows a fan to say they saw something new at the ballpark. It did not make much of a difference though as the Giants failed to do anything offensively. Alex Hinshaw pitched the eighth inning, striking out two hitters and allowing a harmless hit.
San Francisco only managed to get five hits, it was the second game in a row that they hit nothing more than singles. Rich Aurilia leadoff the fifth inning with hit, but the Giants were not able to take advantage of the situation and left him on base. Aurilia was two-for-three, and Randy Winn also had two hits. Aaron Rowand had the other Giants hit. Omar Vizquel looked like he had broken out of his slump, but then grounded into two double plays.
Up and coming pitcher Jonathan Sanchez will try to win the series tonight for San Francisco, but Chad Billingsley will be looking to get it for L.A. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. The Giants will have Thursday off before heading down to San Diego for the weekend.
