After being swept in Houston it looked as if the Giants were about to have a rough road trip, but they turned it around tonight in Atlanta with a 5-1 win. Matt Cain continued to dominate in the second half.
Cain has been improving his record in the second half of the season by adding a few wins to his career total. He went seven innings, giving up just one run on six hits and a walk while striking out five hitters. Jack Taschner rebounded from a rough performance the other night and pitched a perfect eighth inning with a strikeout to earn a hold. Pitching in a non-save situation, Brian Wilson pitched the ninth inning, allowing just one baserunner on a walk.
The top of the Giants order did all the work offensively tonight. Randy Winn and Bengie Molina each collected four hits, both drove in two runs, but Winn scored two runs himself. One of Winn’s hits was a solo homer in the two-run eighth inning, he also had two doubles and a single. Winn’s first RBI came on sacrifice fly in the third inning. Fred Lewis scored two runs batting out of the three slot and was two-for-four with two singles. Eugenio Velez, Lewis, and Brian Roberts each added stolen bases to their season total; Lewis’ was his twenty-first on the season.
Jonathan Sanchez, who has had a weak second half will pitch against veteran Mike Hampton in Saturday’s game at 4:00 p.m. Hampton has not really pitched much in the Majors since 2005, and is trying to re-establish himself.
