San Francisco Chronicle Giants welcome Dodgers, then bury them John Shea SF Giants Press Clips Tuesday, May 16, 2017 Brandon Crawford was an easy out. Stuck between third base and the plate, ready to start dancing in a rundown, Crawford couldn t believe what he just saw. Brandon McCarthy, looking the wrong way. The new and improved Giants got the breaks and the hits Monday night, along with another fine Matt Cain outing, and that was the formula for an 8-4 victory in their series opener against the Dodgers at AT&T Park. Cain lasted 6 2/3 innings and threw a season-high 112 pitches, Buster Posey hit another home run and newcomer Mac Williamson went 2-for-4 in his 2017 debut after taking the roster spot of Hunter Pence, whose hamstring strain sent him to the disabled list. Not long ago the undisputed worst team in the majors the standings said so the Giants have won four straight and five of six and are becoming who they thought they were: a team that combines good pitching, good hitting and good fielding. A simple concept, but one that eluded these guys well into May. Nowadays, they re clicking as if they re serious about returning to respectability in the NL West. You always have a different mood when you have some success, manager Bruce Bochy said. It certainly helps your personality, I can tell you that. Those guys in there have gone through some tough times in the early going. We re not going to get giddy here. I mean, we dug ourselves a hole. You ve got to believe the worm was going to turn, and at this point it has. In becoming the first Giant since Gaylord Perry to surpass 2,000 career innings, Cain gave up a gameopening double to Joc Pederson and yielded just four more hits, the only damage coming on Yasmani Grandal s RBI double in the third. On the day of Cain s previous start, the Giants started this mini-streak by rallying for a 6-5 victory in New York highlighted by Christian Arroyo s bases-loaded double. The good vibes haven t disappeared, and the Dodgers experienced them firsthand. Especially when the Giants scored two runs on an infield hit in the fourth inning.
No, Crawford initially said when asked if he could explain what happened. After the shortstop hit a double off first baseman Chase Utley s mitt to score Brandon Belt and move Posey to third, Eduardo Nuñez hit a slow roller up the middle, splitting shortstop Corey Seager and second baseman Chris Taylor. Posey scored, and Seager finally caught up to the ball on the grass and fired toward home McCarthy, who was on the mound but should have been backing up the plate, caught it. Crawford had already rounded third and stopped when he realized he could have been out at the plate. McCarthy, however, didn t look behind him until it was too late, Nuñez distracting him by rushing to second. So Crawford made it home and Nuñez made it to second, the Dodgers retiring neither after having both caught up between bases. As it turned out, third-base coach Phil Nevin had sent Crawford because he thought Taylor fielded the ball and was in no position to throw. But it was Seager s play. I assumed the ball went into center field, Crawford said. I turned and looked and saw the ball coming in. That s why I froze and was going to at least get back to third or get in a rundown so Nuñez could keep going. McCarthy cut it off and didn t really look at me. I thought I might as well go home. I don t think I ve seen that before. Nuñez stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Arroyo, and the Giants kept pouring it on. Williamson hit an RBI single in the sixth and the Giants added two more on a Posey homer and Nuñez RBI double in the seventh. In spring training, it was anticipated that the Giants and Dodgers would be fighting each other for first place in mid-may, but both are looking up at the Rockies, the Giants deficit far greater than the Dodgers. That hardly lessened the significance of the latest rendezvous by the bay for the old rivals, and it should be noted hundreds of fans dressed in Dodger blue bought up seats in the center-field bleachers and unfurled a giant LA banner in the seventh inning. Just before Posey homered for the fifth time in his last six games. The Giants carried a seven-run lead into the ninth before the Dodgers scored three times off three relievers on Taylor s RBI double, Franklin Gutierrez s RBI single and Derek Law s wild pitch. So what changed the momentum on this team? Cain said it was Arroyo s big hit in New York. Crawford said it was the 17-inning game that Posey won with a walk-off homer. That was it for me," Crawford said. I actually played in that one, so I m a little biased.
San Francisco Chronicle Giants place Pence on DL; Williamson recalled John Shea Hunter Pence didn t want a repeat of last season when he ruptured his right hamstring, underwent surgery and missed two months. So he went on the 10-day disabled list Monday to rest his left hamstring strain. I think it taught me a lot, Pence said. The right fielder said the signs of his mild strain are similar to what they were last year when he continued to play on it and got seriously hurt. Shutting it down, Pence said, is a way to avoid a repeat, and he s confident he could be activated around the time he s eligible, which is next Tuesday. I don t feel terribly bad, Pence said. Hopefully, we can knock this out really quick. Then again, considering Pence s hamstring issues last year, it s possible the Giants exercise further caution and give him a longer break even if he does proclaim himself ready to go. Which he usually does anyway. In fact, manager Bruce Bochy said, he came in today, which is not unusual, and said it just felt great Man, it feels so much better today but we still made the move because we don t want a setback, we don t want him to push it. Pence said he felt tightness during last week s series in New York and felt it more during Thursday s game against the Reds. When he grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the 15th inning Friday, he simply jogged to first. He went for an MRI exam, and the Giants determined he needed an extended breather. Just trying to run on the grounder I hit, I couldn t really run, Pence said, referring to Thursday. After that sprint, it went backwards. Even in the outfield, I was make-shifting trying to get to balls. It s his fifth trip to the DL in three seasons. Briefly: Taking Pence s roster spot, Mac Williamson was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento, inserted into Monday s lineup as the Giants place Pence on DL; Williamson recalled By John Shea Updated 10:41 pm, Monday, May 15, 2017 11 Giants player Hunter Pence (8) runs to first base after hitting the ball during a game between the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California, on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, The Chronicle Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, The Chronicle
IMAGE 1 OF 2 Buy PhotoGiants player Hunter Pence (8) runs to first base after hitting the ball during a game between the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California, on Tuesday, April... more Hunter Pence didn t want a repeat of last season when he ruptured his right hamstring, underwent surgery and missed two months. So he went on the 10-day disabled list Monday to rest his left hamstring strain. I think it taught me a lot, Pence said. The right fielder said the signs of his mild strain are similar to what they were last year when he continued to play on it and got seriously hurt. Shutting it down, Pence said, is a way to avoid a repeat, and he s confident he could be activated around the time he s eligible, which is next Tuesday. ALSO Giants win third straight with rare onslaught of runs I don t feel terribly bad, Pence said. Hopefully, we can knock this out really quick. Then again, considering Pence s hamstring issues last year, it s possible the Giants exercise further caution and give him a longer break even if he does proclaim himself ready to go. Which he usually does anyway. In fact, manager Bruce Bochy said, he came in today, which is not unusual, and said it just felt great Man, it feels so much better today but we still made the move because we don t want a setback, we don t want him to push it. Pence said he felt tightness during last week s series in New York and felt it more during Thursday s game against the Reds. When he grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the 15th inning Friday, he simply jogged to first. He went for an MRI exam, and the Giants determined he needed an extended breather. Just trying to run on the grounder I hit, I couldn t really run, Pence said, referring to Thursday. After that sprint, it went backwards. Even in the outfield, I was make-shifting trying to get to balls. It s his fifth trip to the DL in three seasons. Briefly: Taking Pence s roster spot, Mac Williamson was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento, inserted into Monday s lineup as the right fielder and went 2-for-4.... Closer Mark Melancon threw 22 pitches off a bullpen mound Monday. I was going pretty much full go, he said. He s eligible to come off the DL Tuesday, but Bochy said it s a strong possibility it will be another day or two. Belt s turn? Had the Giants-Reds game Friday gone more than 17 innings, Bruce Bochy would have pitched Matt Cain. And then... Brandon Belt. He was the first (position player) up. He didn t know it, Bochy said San Francisco Chronicle Dodger fans bid to troll Giants with banner backfires John Shea You have to hand it to the huge group of Dodgers fans who bought up a huge section of seats in the center-field bleachers at AT&T Park on Monday night.
One of them snuck in a gigantic blue banner with the Dodgers LA logo, and in the seventh inning they unfurled it and hoisted it over their heads. Imagine the planning that went into that. There was only one problem with their plan: They waited until the Giants had a 6-1 lead against the Dodgers in the opener of a three-game series. Giants television broadcaster Duane Kuiper mentioned the stunt might have had more impact if the score were the other way around, and Giants fans on social media went wild making fun of it. While Giants fans were still laughing and jeering, Buster Posey hit a homer in a two-run rally that gave the Giants an 8-1 lead. They won 8-4, their fourth straight victory. As the Dodger fans dispersed, one had to wonder how their stunt would have gone had they tried that in the pugilistic days of Candlestick Park. It's not clear if the stunt was an attempt to respond to viral story earlier this month of a Giants fan reading the San Francisco Chronicle in the front row at Dodger's Stadium with a bold headline celebrating the Giants "Dynasty." After five years away from home, mom surprised by Army sergeant son at Giants game. San Jose Mercury News Is Matt Cain starting to resemble the workhorse he once was? Jimmy Durkin SAN FRANCISCO Matt Cain threw 112 pitches in his win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night. To find the last time Cain threw that many pitches, one has to travel back all the way to April 2014 back when Cain was still viewed as one of the franchise stalwarts and workhorse starters. The period from then to now has not been kind to the three-time All-Star. Cain took a 1-0 loss back on April 12, 2014, to the Colorado Rockies when he threw 116 pitches. He topped 100 pitches seven more times that season, a year in which injuries and ineffectiveness first started taking their toll on him and he was limited to 15 starts. A season later, Cain made only 11 starts and just once topped 100 pitches. Last year, he was up to 17 starts and got up to 111 pitches in one May outing. But he was on the disabled list with a hamstring strain two weeks later and slogged through another rough season. The aggregate from 2014-16: an 8-19 record, a 5.13 ERA over 43 starts and just 240 1/3 innings pitched. Manager Bruce Bochy has taken a cautious approach with Cain, who hadn t gone past 92 pitches until Monday night and hadn t thrown more than 86 in any of his last five starts. The training wheels came off against the Dodgers, so to speak. He s such great control out there with his delivery, not putting a lot of effort in it. He s shown great command, Bochy said. His stamina s back. His strength is there. He just made great pitches all night.
Bochy said he would ve let Cain go longer in his last outing if he didn t need to pinch-hit for him and on Monday, he was impressed with how Cain bounced back after giving a leadoff double to Joc Pederson in the first inning. He retired the next three batters, striking out both Corey Seager and Cody Belinger looking. He gives up a leadoff double and settles down and made some great pitches there to keep them from scoring, Bochy said. He just did a nice job of pitching, using four pitches with command. Cain, likewise, was happy with how that first inning quickly shifted after the Pederson double. That was the nice part is we ve been kind of working on stuff in the bullpen so I was trying to keep it as simple as I could, Cain said. Worry about kind of throwing through the plate, not trying to nit pick. Buster (Posey) did a good of mixing it up to be able to set those guys to where we were able to go in and go away later. He did a good back there of keeping those guys off balance. It hasn t been easy for Cain to go from one of the leaders of an All-Star and championship winning pitching staff to a guy who had to fight to earn the No. 5 starting job during the spring. But he noted the support he s received in the organization as one reason he s started to pull himself out of a three-year funk. It s been a long road, but it something i ve been kind of grinding at, Cain said. Guys around here have definitely helped out with that. Just had to find my confidence again and go out there trying to repeat my delivery. It s been nice to have a ton of support. Guys have been extremely helpful, so it s a big part of it. Cain s now allowed just three earned runs in 22 2/3 innings pitched over four home starts this year and one run in 12 2/3 innings against the Dodgers. The season hasn t been perfect he s just 10 days removed from allowing nine runs and 10 hits while walking six against the Cincinnati Reds but after a couple of years of being counted out, Cain is finally looking more like a guy the Giants can count on again. San Jose Mercury News Good fortune produces good baseball for Giants in win over Dodgers Jimmy Durkin SAN FRANCISCO Sometimes it s good to be a little lucky. The Giants enjoyed their share of fortune Monday and then translated that into some good baseball to extend their season-best winning streak to four games with a 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park. We did a lot of good things, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. Very aggressive on the bases, the stolen bases and advancing to the next base. The guys were aggressive tonight. They played well. On a day Giants right fielder Hunter Pence landed on the disabled list with a left hamstring strain he s the team s 13th player and fifth former All-Star to miss time this season it helped to see this longawaited winning streak continue.
And in the game of baseball, there s never a need to apologize for a little good luck. Matt Cain experienced some of it on the mound, with two fortuitous double play balls that found their way right into the Giants gloves in the first four innings. But it was part of their four-run rally in the fourth inning that started the search for a full moon. The Giants (16-24) already had a 2-1 lead at that point, with Brandon Belt and Buster Posey leading off the inning with singles and Brandon Crawford hitting an RBI double to break the tie. But a team that had been desperate to get its offense going before Sunday s eight-run explosion got the hit and help it needed. Eduardo Nuñez broke his bat on grounder that, thanks to shortstop Corey Seager playing deep in the hole, reached shallow center field for a single. Posey easily scored, but Crawford also came racing around third when third base coach Phil Nevin thought that second baseman Chris Taylor had fielded the ball. But it was actually Seager and when he wheeled around to throw home, Crawford thought he was toast. Seager threw off his back foot to pitcher Brandon McCarthy, positioned as a cutoff man to home. Crawford hesitated to try to at least get in a run down, but McCarthy didn t look his way and instead focused on Nuñez as he made his way to second. Sp Crawford headed home as McCarthy continued to stare down Nuñez, who never put on the brakes on his path toward an uncovered second base. McCarthy finally took a belated look toward Crawford heading home, then returned his focus to Nuñez when those hopes dried up. But by the time Taylor who had joined Seager is trying to chase the ball into shallow center returned to cover second base, the throw was late and the Giants had a 4-1 lead and a man at second. Crawford was asked if he could even describe the play. No, I don t think I can, he said with a chuckle. That s just something that happens. I don t think I ve ever seen that before. Nuñez promptly stole third base, his 10th steal of the year, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Christian Arroyo despite the incredibly strong throw home from Yasiel Puig. Like that, the Giants were up 5-1 and had their second four-run inning in as many days. Good baseball can seem contagious and the Giants are finally starting to see that this year. They manufactured another run in the sixth inning thanks to a pair of their youngsters. Arroyo worked McCarthy for a two-out walk, then stole second base for the first steal of his major league career. After fouling off a 3-2 pitch, Mac Williamson who was called up from Triple-A when Pence went on the D.L. drove him home with his second hit of the night. The Giants added two more runs in the seventh inning on Posey s solo home run and a rocketed RBI double to center by Nuñez as they pushed across eight runs for the second straight day. Those runs help produced a cushion for when the Dodgers made things interesting by scoring three runs in the ninth inning before Derek Law the third pitcher of the inning got the final out.
Cain was solid to win his third game of the year. He worked around a leadoff double in the first inning and then erased a leadoff walk in the second when Chase Utley hit a line drive right to Belt at first base, who took a couple easy steps to first to force out Puig. With the game tied at 1-1 in the fourth, Cain got another helpful double play. Utley took off on a steal attempt of second, but Taylor hit a ball up the middle right to where Crawford was heading to cover the bag and that became an inning-ender. Cain s final line saw him go 6 2/3 innings and allow five hits and one run while throwing 112 pitches. Posey s home run was his fifth in the past seven games and his 2 for 4 night jumped his average to.375, good for third in the National League behind Washington Nationals teammates Ryan Zimmerman (.385) and Bryce Harper (.384). Pence s D.L. stint is retroactive to Saturday and he s confident he ll be able to come off when he s eligible May 23. I don t feel terribly bad, Pence said. Hopefully we can knock this out real quick. Pence said this injury is very similar to what he first experienced in his right hamstring last year when he tried to play through the injury and eventually ruptured it and needed surgery. Armed with that information following an MRI, it was an obvious call to sit him down and let the mild strain heal to avoid any larger issues. Closer Mark Melancon (mild right pronator strain) is eligible to come off the D.L. on Tuesday and he threw a 22-pitch bullpen session Monday that went well. If he s feeling good when he gets to the clubhouse, there s a chance he could be activated, although manager Bruce Bochy said they may wait an extra day or two to be certain. San Jose Mercury News Giants lose another All-Star to disabled list Jimmy Durkin SAN FRANCISCO Hunter Pence s days as one of the league s iron men are well behind him now. The Giants right fielder was placed on the 10-day disabled list Monday with a strained left hamstring his fifth trip to the disabled list since the start of the 2015 season. Mac Williamson, who began the season on the D.L. with a quadriceps strain, was called up from Triple-A Sacramento to help fill Pence s void. He s in the starting lineup Monday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, playing in right field and batting eighth. Pence becomes one of three former All-Stars on the Giants roster currently on the disabled list, joining pitchers Madison Bumgarner (left shoulder strain, bruised ribs) and Mark Melancon (mild right pronator strain). Catcher Buster Posey and shortstop Brandon Crawford have also spent time on the D.L. this year. The good news to glean is that Pence feels confident he can be back within the prescribed 10 days. His D.L. stint is backdated to Saturday and he ll be eligible to return May 23.
I don t feel terribly bad, Pence said. Hopefully we can knock this out real quick. According to what they told me, I should be ready right around the time I come off the D.L., maybe a day earlier. Pence said this injury is very similar to what he initially experienced with his right hamstring last year. The once-durable Pence, who took a 383 consecutive games played streak into the 2015 season, tried to play through the discomfort last year and that caused his hamstring to rupture and sent him under the knife. He missed two months. You can kind of limp your way through it a little bit, Pence said. I didn t realize it was as big a deal as it was last year. Pence hasn t started a game since Thursday, although he did pinch-hit in Friday s 17-inning victory over the Cincinnati Reds. He said he first began feeling something in the hamstring while in New York on the last road trip before it flared up further in Thursday s game against the Reds. It just started creeping up a little worse, a little worse and I just kept going, Pence said. I noticed it warming up the first game when we got back against Cincinnati. Just trying to run on the grounder I hit, I couldn t really run and even after that sprint, it just went backwards. Even in the outfield, I was makeshifting trying to get to balls. Being out there every day used to be the norm for a Pence, whose streak entering 2015 was the league s longest. But he opened that year on the D.L. after getting hit by a pitch in spring training and fracturing his left forearm. He was also spent a month on the DL that year with left wrist tendinitis and missed the final month and a half with a strained left oblique. After playing just 52 games in 2015, he was limited to 106 last season with the right hamstring. Giants manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged Sunday the team needs to be more diligent about ignoring what Pence says and better monitoring his playing time. Pence came to the ballpark Monday insisting he was feeling a lot better, but the team still made the move. We don t want to have a setback, Bochy said. We don t want him to try to push it. Pence becomes the 13th Giants player to land on the disabled list this season. Melancon is eligible to return Tuesday and he threw a 22-pitch bullpen session on Monday that was deemed a success. We ll see how he comes out of it and make a call tomorrow what we re going to do with him, Bochy said of Melancon. That s good news that he did take a pen today and felt great. While Melancon may well be ready by Tuesday, Bochy did later acknowledge there s a strong possibility we give him another day or two before activating him. Williamson is back in the majors after hitting.223 with six home runs and 15 RBIs in 112 at-bats last year and also getting into 10 games in 2015. He was competing for the left field job in spring training when he dealt with a left quadriceps strain, the same injury that ended his season early last year. I came into spring and worked really hard every day to ensure that the quad the ended the season last year for me wouldn t be an issue and it did pop back up, Williamson said. That was the frustrating part for me because I felt like I had put in the work on a daily basis to ensure that I was properly stretched
and warmed up and that wouldn t be an issue. When that kind of starting flaring up, I continued to try to play through that, knowing the opportunity. Now he s back and knows this is another opportunity for him. Every time you get an opportunity, you want to work hard and succeed, Williamson said. I m taking it the same as last year, just go out there and leave it all out there. Bochy said Williamson will play a mix of right and left field and how well he plays will determine if he s out there on an every day basis. Here s a look at the lineups for Monday s series opener with the Dodgers. MLB.com Giants rack up runs to win 4th straight Ken Gurnick and Chris Haft SAN FRANCISCO -- Sustaining lively offense for a second straight game Monday night, the San Francisco Giants relied on a four-run fourth inning to cruise past the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-4. Four consecutive Giants hit safely to begin the fourth-inning uprising, which crested with Eduardo Nunez's two-run single off Dodgers starter Brandon McCarthy (3-1). Nunez added a run-scoring double in the seventh, hiking his season-high RBI total to three. McCarthy yielded six runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, inflating his ERA from 3.10 to 4.15. This marked the first time the Giants, who lengthened their winning streak to four games, scored at least six runs for the second game in a row since the second and third games of the season at Arizona. "We're not going to get giddy here. We've dug ourselves a hole," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Every day we have to try to play our best game and these guys are doing that right now. You had to believe that the worm was going to turn and at this point it has. But we have our hands full the next couple of days." The beneficiary was Matt Cain (3-1), who limited Los Angeles to one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings. "He did a lot of what he did against us the first time," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Cain, who shut out the Dodgers over six innings in an April 24 win. "He pitched backward. We hit some balls hard, but didn't have anything to show for it. He went out there and competed. We're a pretty good fastball hitting team and his velocity isn't what it used to be. He really didn't do anything special, but he was able to land the secondary [pitches] and when pitchers do that it keeps our hitters off balance." Los Angeles made the score a little less lopsided in the ninth by scoring three runs and forcing the Giants to use three relievers. The last of them, Derek Law, retired the only two batters he faced to end the game. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED McCarthy's mistake: The Giants scored an extra run on Nunez's fourth-inning single fielded by shortstop Corey Seager, courtesy of McCarthy's brief confusion. After Nunez's hit scored Buster Posey easily from third base, Brandon Crawford, who had been on second base, rounded third. McCarthy cut off the throw
home and paid no attention to Crawford and was instead focusing on Nunez, who took a big turn around first base. Crawford capitalized by charging home while McCarthy made a late throw to second base in a fruitless attempt to retire Nunez. "They didn't know [Crawford] was going home and Noonie got their attention at second base," Bochy said. Mac's back: Freshly recalled from Triple-A Sacramento, Mac Williamson replaced sidelined right fielder Hunter Pence and contributed handsomely to San Francisco's offense. Williamson demonstrated why he began the season as a leading candidate for the left-field vacancy by singling and scoring the Giants' first run in the second inning, then singling home Christian Arroyo in the sixth inning. "He looked comfortable," Bochy said. "I thought he threw out some nice at-bats and got some good swings off." QUOTABLE "I know we're a better club than we've shown against these guys. They rise to play us. Regardless, we have to find ways to play better and beat those guys." -- Roberts on the Giants, who are are 5-3 against the Dodgers this year and 11-21 against everyone else. SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Posey has been known to chuckle at modern statistical measures, but his seventh-inning home run off Dodgers reliever Grant Dayton was no joke. According to Statcast, Posey's drive traveled at 93 mph after being struck at a 37-degree launch angle. Only 2 percent of similar batted balls have gone for home runs this season. Most end up as harmless flies. "I'm just getting ready early and trying to get a good pitch to hit," said Posey, who has six home runs this month and shares the National League lead in that category with Philadelphia's Aaron Altherr and Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt. WHAT'S NEXT Dodgers: Rich Hill comes off the disabled list to make Tuesday night's 7:15 p.m. PT start for the Dodgers, only his third start of a season plagued by chronic blister issues. He is coming off a five-inning no-hitter rehab start. Giants: Left-hander Ty Blach, who's scheduled to start Tuesday's 7:15 p.m. PT rematch at AT&T Park for San Francisco, hopes to extend his success against the Dodgers. He owns a 1.13 ERA against them and a 4.71 ERA against all other opponents. MLB.com Cain shows strength in milestone night Chris Haft SAN FRANCISCO -- Matt Cain etched his name once again alongside the Giants' greatest pitchers. But the ink on his signature will have been dry, possibly for decades, before he understands the significance of his handiwork.
Cain claimed not only the decision but also a slice of posterity in the Giants' 8-4 victory Monday night over the Los Angeles Dodgers. He reached the 2,000-inning level after finishing the third, becoming the 12th pitcher to amass that total as a Giant. A three-time All-Star, a key starter in San Francisco's postseason rotation during two World Serieswinning seasons and the author of a perfect game in 2012, Cain joined eight Hall of Famers in accumulating 2,000 innings. The most recent one was Gaylord Perry in 1970. "You always like the milestones, the big number, whether it's 1,000 or 1,500," Cain said. "You see the number but you're not exactly sure what you did. It'll be something I'll cherish and probably understand a lot more later on." Cain's victory was easier to comprehend. He lasted 6 2/3 innings while yielding one run and five hits. His performance extended the Giants' winning streak to four games and cooled off a Dodgers club that won 12 of its previous 16 games. The right-hander who has weathered significant injuries since 2013 threw 112 pitches, his highest singlegame figure since he totaled 116 during seven innings in a 1-0 loss to Colorado on April 12, 2014. "His stamina's back," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "His strength is there and he made great pitches all night." Cain established himself immediately, blanking the Dodgers in the first inning after Joc Pederson doubled to open the game. That escape act included called third strikes on Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger. "That kind of showed you how good his command was," Bochy said. Cain credited catcher Buster Posey's pitch-calling with helping to subdue Los Angeles' offense. "He did a good job of mixing it up... [and] keeping those guys off-balance," Cain said. Luck also benefited Cain. Some of Los Angeles' hard-hit balls found Giants gloves, including Chase Utley's second-inning line drive that resulted in a double play and Corey Seager's fifth-inning smash that first baseman Brandon Belt dove to smother. Mostly, however, Cain relied on his own skill. Continuing his transition from hard thrower to pitcher, he threw a couple of 73 mph curveballs to Kiké Hernandez, the final hitter he faced, en route to recording a strikeout. For a pitcher whose deliveries have hovered above 90 mph through most of his 12-year career, it was an unusual sight. "The curveball was a big pitch for him tonight," Posey said. "He's doing a nice job of giving them different looks."
MLB.com Blach hopes to continue success vs. Dodgers Ken Gurnick Rich Hill makes his first start for the Dodgers since April 16 on Tuesday night against Giants left-hander Ty Blach. Hill has been on the disabled list with a chronic finger blister that has bothered him since last year. Hill tuned up for this return with a five-inning rehab no-hitter for Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga against the Giants' farm club in San Jose, where he faced rehabbing outfielder Denard Span and Jonah Arenado, brother of Rockies All-Star Nolan Arenado. Hill has pitched only eight innings with five walks this year. Blach is taking the rotation spot of injured Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, and Blach has followed in Bumgarner's successful footsteps against the Dodgers, going 1-1 with a 1.13 ERA in three games (two starts). Things to know about this game Third baseman Justin Turner is expected to return to the Dodgers' starting lineup after being rested Monday night. In 2016, Hill's curveball usage of 49 percent ranked second among starters. In eight innings this year, he has thrown the hook 56 percent of the time to lead all pitchers with at least 100 total pitches, according to Statcast. Brandon Belt (3-for-6), Brandon Crawford (3-for-6) and Buster Posey (4-for-8) are hitting.500 lifetime off Hill. MLB.com Hamstring sends Pence to DL; Williamson up Chris Haft SAN FRANCISCO -- Hunter Pence's left hamstring, which steadily grew more troublesome, finally forced the Giants to place their right fielder on the 10-day disabled list Monday. To fill Pence's roster spot and inherit some of the playing time that his absence will create, San Francisco recalled outfielder Mac Williamson from Triple-A Sacramento. Pence, batting.243 with three home runs and 16 RBIs, was the only Giant to appear in the club's first 37 games through Friday. But an MRI examination early Sunday revealed a mild hamstring strain. Pence, 34, expressed optimism about being ready to leave the disabled list when he's eligible May 23. "Hopefully we can knock this out real quick," said Pence, who expressed satisfaction with this year's change in the length of DL stints from 15 days to 10. "Fifteen days would be a long time," Pence said. "Ten days is right at what it requires to get this thing right."
Pence missed 48 games with a strained right hamstring last season. He eventually underwent surgery to remove a torn tendon in his leg and returned to play 24 games. However, he pointed out that righthanded batters such as him undergo less stress on the left hamstring than on their right, which they use for pushing off when launching a swing and weight support when they're finishing it. Pence said he began feeling discomfort in his hamstring last week during the Giants' three-game series in New York. Williamson, who opened the season on the DL with a strained left quadriceps, hit.274 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 18 games at Sacramento. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Williamson, who has spent parts of the previous two seasons with the Giants, will be used in both outfield corners. He started in right field and batted eighth in Monday night's series opener against Los Angeles. Williamson, 26, began Spring Training as a candidate to win the left-field job and hit.324 with a.937 OPS. But his quad injury hampered him, along with the Giants' curiosity in Chris Marrero, who hit seven homers in 64 Cactus League at-bats. They opted to begin the season with him and Jarrett Parker in left. Marrero quickly faded and Parker was sidelined by a fractured right clavicle in mid-april. But Williamson, who said he lacked proper timing at the plate, remained in Triple-A. A 6-for-13 stretch this past weekend at Colorado Springs propelled Williamson toward his promotion. "A lot of opportunities present themselves throughout the year in this game," Williamson said. Closer Mark Melancon (right pronator strain) threw 22 pitches during a bullpen session. The Giants will evaluate his health before announcing the next step in his recovery Tuesday. NBC Sports Bay Area GIANTS NOTES: WILLIAMSON'S STRONG DEBUT; SPAN THE GAME-CHANGER Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO The five-song victory soundtrack came with a bonus track Monday: Return of the Mack by Mark Morrison. It was a nod to Mac Williamson, the outfielder who returned to AT&T Park in a big way. Williamson had a hard single to right in his first at-bat and an RBI single in the sixth that pushed the lead to five. The Giants would hold on for an 8-4 win. It feels great any time you can help the team win, especially against the Dodgers. Williamson said in a post-game interview on NBC Sports Bay Area. Obviously Buster (Posey) is swinging it really well and we re just trying to (Christian) Arroyo and I at bottom of lineup we re just trying to do our job. I m hitting eighth so I m in front of the pitcher and trying to see some pitches and work counts. Arroyo did a great job in a few of his at-bats getting on. He did a heck of a job on the sac fly. I was just trying to see some pitches and put one out there. He stole second and got in scoring position and I was able to push him over.
The two former River Cats teammates combined for a two-out run in the sixth. Arroyo walked and stole second for his first big league steal. Williamson hit one 106 mph the other way for the RBI. His previous single was hit 110, also the other way. Mac had a nice debut, didn t he? Bochy said. He looked comfortable, solid hits to right field. He was starting to come around in spring training. He got enough at-bats down there in Triple-A to get his timing. --- Hunter Pence expects to be back right around the 10-day mark, and both player and manager said the new 10-day DL made this a much easier decision. Pence might have fought it a bit more if it was a full 15. It s a great move by Major League Baseball, Bochy said. It was probably a little overdue. That 15-day DL put you in a hard spot. The team across the way last night uses it better than anyone. The Dodgers are basically rotating veterans in and out, and Monday night s starter Brandon McCarthy was put on the 10-day a week prior to this start even though he was only going to miss another day or two with a left shoulder issue. The Giants thought they might be able to do some similar things, but they don t have as much pitching depth. They recently took a blow at Triple-A; hard-throwing right-hander Chase Johnson had Tommy John surgery on May 8. The Giants put him in the bullpen last summer because they thought that would help keep him healthy, but there are no correct answers when it comes to the elbow. --- Denard Span has been a game-changer since returning, but Bochy said he ll probably get a day off during this series. The Giants face left-handers the next two days Rich Hill and Clayton Kershaw. Bochy wants to keep Span fresh. Really, we ve been trying to rest these guys a little bit more, he said. I wouldn t call it quite a rotation but every six or seven days we ll try to get them off the field. It s going to be important to find a way to keep these guys fresh and rested. I think they ll be better players. It ll be a key once the weather heats up. For all the minor strains and tweaks the Giants have had, they haven t had to deal with any hot or humid weather yet. That s usually when guys start to wear down. --- Some rehab updates: Aaron Hill will DH a couple of games for the San Jose Giants, who are in Visalia this week. That s convenient for Hill. He s from Visalia. Jarrett Parker played catch for the second time. He s making slow but steady progress after clavicle surgery. --- A note for the Let Belt Pitch crowd, of which Brandon Belt is the president: Bochy said Belt would have been the next man up on Friday after Matt Cain. Now, this would ve taken a while, because Cain could have thrown several innings if he actually got into that game. But still, baby steps. It s usually a backup catcher or fifth infielder who has that job, so I couldn t believe that Bochy never did it.
They usually put guys out there that they don t mind getting hurt, Bochy said, So I was surprised that I didn t pitch. NBC Sports Bay Area WITH FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN, GIANTS HEADED IN RIGHT DIRECTION, BUT NOT GETTING GIDDY Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO Bruce Bochy kept a stoic expression through much of the season-opening slide, but he couldn t hide his emotions in the fourth inning Monday. As the Giants took advantage of a bungled rundown and scored two runs, Bochy turned his face toward the outfield. He smiled and chuckled briefly before slipping back into character. Bochy enjoyed Monday night, and so did his players. They re finally headed in the right direction, and there was no it s the Reds caveat this time. The red-hot Dodgers came into town and on the first night the Giants pitched well, hit well, defended as they always do, and took advantage of mistakes. When you re having some success that certainly helps your personality, Bochy said. We re not getting giddy out there. We dug ourselves a hole (but) every day you ve got to come out with your best game. You ve got to believe the worm is going to turn and it has, but we ve got our hands full the next couple of days. The Giants will face Rich Hill on Tuesday and Clayton Kershaw on Wednesday. If they needed a reminder of how difficult it will be to keep this charge going, they got it in the ninth inning of an 8-4 win. The bullpen took a seven-run lead into the inning but Bochy had to turn to his closer, Derek Law, as the third pitcher of the frame. Steven Okert was warming up, too. Law shut it down, however. This was the rare night when the Giants had done so much right that a late stumble couldn t derail them. Most of the damage was done in the fourth, when the lineup opened with four straight hits and scored four runs. That gave Matt Cain a 5-1 lead, and he went deep with it. Cain threw 112 pitches, his most since 2014. He has allowed one run in 12 1/3 innings against the Dodgers this season. In mid-may, he s 3-1 with a 4.04 ERA. Talk about the worm turning. He s in such great control out there with his delivery, Bochy said. He s not putting a lot of effort in and he s showing great command. His stamina is back, the stuff is there, and he just made some great pitches all night. As Bochy walked out to the mound to take the ball in the seventh, the infielders rushed to the mound. There was a bit more urgency than normal, with five players eager to show their appreciation for the longest-tenured Giant. Cain walked off to a standing ovation. It feels good, it definitely feels good, he said. It s been a long road but it s something we ve been grinding at. We ve had to find that confidence again and keep going out there and repeating the delivery.
Cain caught a couple of breaks on double-play balls early, but the Giants certainly weren't apologizing. They scored their first run on a bloop single by Denard Span. I think that was our first two-out bloop of the year, Brandon Crawford said. The luck continued in the fourth on Eduardo Nuñez s broken-bat infield single that scored two. Asked to explain the play, Crawford smiled. No, I don t think I can, he said. He went on to say Phil Nevin had thought the second baseman had stopped the ball, and that would have given Crawford room to get home from second. Crawford assumed the ball had gotten into center field. When he looked up, shortstop Corey Seager had thrown it in to pitcher Brandon McCarthy. Crawford froze between third and home. Nuñez was caught up between first and second. McCarthy for some reason spun toward second and Crawford scored easily. Nuñez was safe, too. Yeah, you know, we ve gotten so many of those this year, Crawford joked. That s something that just happened. I don t think I ve seen that before. After six weeks of not forcing the issue and also not getting any help, the Giants will take it. They found ways to score in more conventional ways, too. Crawford's RBI double was smoked. Mac Williamson had two hits and an RBI in his return, earning an addition of Return of the Mack to the post game victory soundtrack. Buster Posey hit his fifth homer in seven games. The third Posey blast came Wednesday in New York, the day Cain points to as the start of all this. He noted that Christian Arroyo s bases-clearing double that night brought joy back to the dugout. Crawford thought the 17-inning game on Friday turned the tide. It s a discussion without a sure answer, but that doesn t matter. Any discussion about wins is one the Giants will happily have at this point. NBC Sports Bay Area INSTANT REPLAY: OFFENSE, CAIN POWER GIANTS PAST LA, TO FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO Even when they were the worst team in the league earlier this season, the Giants had success against the Dodgers. On the fourth night of their resurgence, they pulled away early. The Giants scored four in the fourth and kept tacking on, winning 8-4 in the first game of a big threegame set at AT&T Park. A day after clinching their first three-game winning streak of the season, they pushed it to four. As he did April 24 a much different time for the team Matt Cain dominated the Dodgers. He gave up one run over 6 2/3, walking off to a standing ovation. The Giants had everything tilting their way early. Cain put six runners on in the first four innings but benefited from two strange double plays. With the leadoff runner on in the second, Chase Utley smoked a ball right at first baseman Brandon Belt, who stepped on the bag for two. Cain walked Utley with one out in the fourth and he got a good jump on a stolen base attempt. Chris Taylor s bouncer up the middle went right to a covering Brandon Crawford, who stepped on second and threw over for an easy double play.
A Corey Seager single and Yasmani Grandal double got the Dodgers on the board in the third, but the Giants tied it against Brandon McCarthy in the bottom of the inning. Mac Williamson lined a single to right and went to second on a bunt. He scored when Denard Span s two-out bloop landed in shallow left. There was no luck involved with the way the fourth started. Belt and Buster Posey singled and Crawford lined a double down the right-field line, giving the Giants the lead. Then the Dodgers melted down. With two runners in scoring position, Eduardo Nuñez hit a broken-bat bouncer up the middle. When Seager fielded it on the grass and tossed it back to McCarthy, Crawford was hung up halfway between third and home and Nuñez was headed for second. McCarthy didn't see Crawford and he threw to second, where Nuñez slid in safely. Crawford jogged across the plate. Nuñez would score on a sacrifice fly, making it 5-1. Starting pitching report: Cain became the 12th pitcher in franchise history to reach 2,000 innings with the Giants. He came into the night at 1,997. He threw 112 pitches, his most since 2014. Bullpen report: Bochy turned to Bryan Morris with one of Cain s runners on in the seventh. He struck out Scott Van Slyke to end the inning. At the plate: Posey went deep to left in the seventh for his fifth homer in seven games. In the field: After a weekend spent writing about Crawnik, a nod to Belt, who saved a couple of wayward throws Monday. Attendance: The Giants announced a crowd of 41,397 human beings who got to jam to Usher in the seventh. Up next: A battle of lefties. Ty Blach takes on Rich Hill, who is coming off the disabled list (blister). NBC Sports Bay Area GIANTS PLACE HUNTER PENCE ON DISABLED LIST Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO -- As expected, the Giants placed Hunter Pence on the 10-day disabled list Monday with a strained left hamstring. Mac Williamson was called up from Triple-A Sacramento to take Pence's roster spot. Pence was first out of the lineup on Friday, although he pinch-hit late in a 17-inning win. He didn't play over the weekend, so the Giants can back-date the DL stint to Saturday, May 13. It's unclear how long Pence is expected to be out, although it should be a short stint, since he was available to pinch-hit Sunday. He will be eligible to return during the Giants' four-game series against the Cubs next week in Chicago. "It looks like it'll be a few days," manager Bruce Bochy said before that game. "He's available to pinch-hit but we have to make the call of whether to strictly use him to pinch-hit or to get a healthy body up."
The Giants opted for the healthy body. Williamson had a strong spring before injuring his quad. He missed the start of the season and got off to a slow start in Triple-A before picking it up last week. Overall, Williamson was hitting.266 for the River Cats with three homers. The Giants have been waiting for Williamson to find his power stroke, and on Sunday Bochy noted that the slugger is the type of player who can carry a lineup when he gets hot. Williamson could see plenty of action this week. The Dodgers start left-handers on Tuesday and Wednesday. Santa Rosa Press Democrat Giants beat Dodgers for fourth consecutive victory JOSH DUBOW SAN FRANCISCO Eduardo Nunez was credited with a two-run infield single when Los Angeles pitcher Brandon McCarthy lost track of a baserunner and the San Francisco Giants beat the Dodgers 8-4 on Monday night for their season-high fourth consecutive win. The hit by Nunez was the key play in a four-run fourth inning that broke the game open and helped Matt Cain (3-1) earn his second win of the season against the Dodgers. San Francisco opened the inning with three consecutive hits off McCarthy (3-1), with an RBI double by Brandon Crawford putting the Giants up 2-1. That s when things really got interesting. With runners on second and third, Nunez hit a broken-bat grounder up the middle that shortstop Corey Seager fielded just beyond the infield dirt. Buster Posey easily scored from third on the play. Crawford appeared in trouble when he didn t stop at third and Seager hurried the ball to McCarthy on the mound. But with his back to the plate, McCarthy didn t see Crawford caught between third and home and instead focused on Nunez, who took a wide turn around first and didn t stop. McCarthy had to wait to throw to second until Seager got back there and Nunez slid in safely, while Crawford easily scored the third run of the inning. Nunez then stole third when McCarthy failed to keep him close and scored on a sacrifice fly. The Giants added two runs in the seventh against Grant Dayton when Posey hit his fifth homer in his past seven games, and Nunez added an RBI double. TRAINER S ROOM Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (right elbow) is expected to play seven innings in the first game of his rehab assignment today for Class A Rancho Cucamonga. Second baseman Logan Forsythe (toe) is expected to get three ABs in the game as the DH. Giants right fielder Hunter Pence was placed on the 10-day DL retroactive to Saturday with a strained left hamstring. Pence said he hopes to be ready to come off when eligible May 23.