Cained

PIT 3  SF 2  (11)

Kevin Gausman gets the Matt Cain Award for a brilliant effort that results in a loss for the team. He held the Pirates scoreless through eight and was leading 1-0 in the 9th but was bedeviled by two bloopers from the first two batters. On came Jake McGee who gave up a grounder through the drawn-in infield and the game was tied. McGee struck out the next three and Tyler Rogers pitched a scoreless 10th. The Giants could only manage one run in the 11th and Caleb Baragar couldn’t hold the 2-1 lead. The Pirates got two in the bottom half to even up the series.

If you like old school NL-style pitching duels the 2021 Giants are your team. In fact, the 2021 version of MLB is looking like 1968. Tonight there were a lot of clutch defensive plays by both teams and luck–both good and bad–played a big role. When games are close, anything can happen. The Giants lineup could not get it going against six Pittsburgh pitchers and it cost them a win. Kevin Gausman’s final line: 8+ IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 12 SO, 96 pitches to 29 batters.

Johnny Cueto tomorrow at 3:35 Pacific.

Go Giants!

–M.C.