Reds 4, Giants 2: I imagine this conversation taking place before tonight’s game.
Matt Cain: “I’ll hold the Reds to two runs in six innings, and you guys pound the crap out of the rookie with the nearly 7.00 ERA, OK guys?”
Giants hitters [barely holding back snorts of laughter]: “Yeah — mff — sure, Matt! Grk! Umf!”
Matt Cain: “What’s so funny?”
Giants hitters: “N—ghh!—nothing!”
Matt was distracted enough to throw 113 pitches in six innings, so we can’t exactly praise him for pitching a tidy ballgame. He’s not quite this unlucky, but he’s got the 97th worst run support in the majors — out of 98 pitchers who qualify.
PLODAG: The Giant braintrust for shutting down Tim Lincecum for the rest of the year. Nearly 150 innings pitched in his rookie year (on top of his minor league stint), more than a strikeout an inning, and if you measure by average game score, one of the top 40 starting pitchers in the major leagues.
