Giants’ Matt Cain has another good-news, bad-news start
If progress can be defined by lowering one’s ERA from 9.58 to 8.40, then Cain moved forward in Friday night’s 5-1 loss to the Rockies at Scottsdale Stadium.
[...] Cain also struck out five in 42/3 innings, matching his total from his first four starts.
Twice he struck out 2016 Rookie of the Year candidate Trevor Story, on a changeup and a slider.
After Friday’s game, manager Bruce Bochy said, It’s about performance, not just those guys (Cain and Blach), they’re all competing.
Evans also acknowledged that Cain is not blowing pitches past hitters, especially fastballs in the zone.
Evans amplified those comments before Friday’s game, saying that Cain’s curveball is sharp and his command is good, but that he needs to be more deceptive with his fastball delivery so the hitters do not see it so well.
In the sixth inning he swooped into left-center and made a nice basket catch on a Raimel Tapia flyball after center fielder Gorkys Hernandez slipped.
[...] an inning later, he looked more like a guy who has played only 35 innings in the outfield over the past two years when he misread a Charlie Blackmon flyball into a single.
First-base coach Jose Alguacil is recovering from a second operation related to the foul ball he took to the face on March 4.
Evans said Alguacil had cataract surgery in one eye Tuesday.
Left-handed setup man Will Smith, making a Cactus League debut delayed by an elbow injury, pitched a shutout inning. ...
Mark Melancon maintained a 0.00 ERA with his seventh shutout inning. ...
Nick Hundley’s singles accounted for two of the Giants’ six hits.
Manager Bruce Bochy on how much Michael Morse’s left-field play impacts his chances of making the team.