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Cain Returns, Pence Sparks Giants Win

Published

9 years ago

July 8, 2015

San Francisco, CA – It was a dynamic duo that sparked the Giants win tonight. Matt Cain earned his first win in almost a year and Hunter Pence drove in two runs while making the defensive play of the night. San Francisco snapped their seven-game losing streak by shutting out the Mets 3-0.

Cain made his second start of the season and first appearance at AT&T Park after coming off the disable list. He scattered two hits over six scoreless innings. Cain retired the first five batters he faced before giving up a double to Kevin Plawecki in the third. He issued a free pass to both Curtis Granderson and Ruben Tejada to load the bases. After settling down he struck out Daniel Murphy to end the threat.

“It’s been a long time, it’s been a long road,” said Cain when asked about recording his first win since July 9, 2014. “It’s been a lot of work. I can’t give the trainers and those guys enough credit. They found a way to keep me grounded for the long haul of it.”

The Giants scored two runs in the third. Gregor Blanco led off the frame with an infield single. Joe Panik followed with a bloop single to left field and an error by third baseman [Daniel] Murphy allowed Matt Duffy to reach first safely. With the bases loaded and no outs, Pence drove in Blanco on a fielder’s choice. Brandon Crawford’s sacrifice fly scored in Panik making it a 2-0 game.

Pence was activated prior to the game from the 15-day disable list. He missed the last 30 games with left wrist tendinitis. Pence also missed the first 36 games of the season with a fractured left forearm that he suffered in Spring Training on March 5 after getting hit by an inside fastball from Cubs RHP Corey Black. Pence has 13 RBI’s in just 18 games this season. He’s 7-for-22 with runners in scoring position.

Tonight he outshined Cain’s outstanding performance. The right-hander threw 66 strikes in 95 pitches. Overcoming elbow surgery and a strained flexor tendon hasn’t been easy for Cain who made his first start at home. After a hiccup in the third, he returned to form and retired the next six batters before yielding a leadoff triple to Granderson. But it was Pence’s heroic play that kept New York off the board.

Photo by Giants

“He put it right on the money for catcher [Andrew] Susac,” San Francisco’s manager Bruce Bochy said. “We need some presence out there with this streak we’ve been going through, just a shot of adrenaline and he gives you that.”

Tejada’s popup to shallow right field was the break the Mets were looking for. Granderson took off from third to home plate, Pence made a sliding catch down the right field line and popped up quickly firing off a throw to Susac to tag out Granderson for the double play. Cain forced Murphy to ground out to end the inning. The sellout crowd stood to their feet to give Pence a standing ovation.

“I saw him dive for it and I took off,” said Granderson. “I figured if a guy’s going to have to get on the ground for it, it’s not as easy of a play even though the distance of it isn’t as far. But he was able to get it up quickly and make a good throw.”

“I caught the ball with nothing to lose,” Pence said. “There’s no one else on base so you can throw it as hard as you can. You’re kind of spinning and throwing a prayer up there. It was kind of a miracle. All of the stars kind of have to align.”

The Giants offense got another break in the fifth when starting pitcher Bartolo Colon surrendered two back-to-back singles to both Panik and Duffy. Pence followed with a RBI single driving in his second run of the night extending San Francisco’s lead 3-0. It was the win they needed badly. The Giants recorded their 13th shutout of the season leading the Majors.

Unlike last night, San Francisco’s bullpen pulled it together to pitch three scoreless innings. The struggles the bullpen have faced lately seemed to be behind them. George Kontos tossed a scoreless seventh, Hunter Strickland struck out a pair, rookie Josh Osich shut down the eighth and closer Santiago Casilla earned his 21st save. Casilla had allowed four runs on five hits in his past two outings.

“We had four extra-base hits and we couldn’t push anything across,” said Mets manager Terry Collins. “All we had to do was something here or there and I think it would have been and interesting finish.”

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Related Topics:Hunter Pence Matt Cain San Francisco Giants

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Activism

WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

17 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Juanita Matthews

Sister Juanita Matthews

55 Years with Oakland Public School District

The Teacher, Mother, Community Outreach Champion, And Child of God

Juanita Matthews, better known as “Sister Teacher,” is a walking Bible scholar. She moved to California from the great state of Arkansas in 1971. Sister Teacher has a passion for teaching. She has been a member of Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church since 1971. She followed her passion for teaching, and in 1977 became the lead teacher for Adult Class #6. Her motto still today is “Once My Student, Always My Student”.

Beyond her remarkable love for the Lord, Sister Teacher has showcased her love for teaching by working for the Oakland Unified School District for 55 years, all but four of those years spent at Emerson Elementary and Child Development School. She truly cares about her students, making sure they have the tools/supplies needed to learn either at OUSD or Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

She’s also had a “Clothes Closet Ministry” for 51 years, making sure her students have sufficient clothing for school. The Clothes Closet Ministry extends past her students, she has been clothing the community for over 50 years as well. She loves the Lord and is a servant on a mission. She is a loving mother to two beautiful children, Sandra and Andre. This is the impact this woman of God has on her church and the community.

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Bay Area

Vivian Coit, 98

Vivian Coit, a proud Dallas, Texas native made her way to the great state of California in 1943. She was a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great grandmother.

Published

17 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Vivian Coit

Celebrating A Life Well Lived

Sept. 15, 1925 ~ March 30, 2024

Vivian Coit, a proud Dallas, Texas native made her way to the great state of California in 1943. She was a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great grandmother.

In her 98 years, she had various jobs – San Francisco Naval Shipyard, elevator operator, housekeeping, a salesclerk, and supervisor for the United States Postal Service. After 27 years of service with the United States Postal Service, she retired with numerous commendations. She was a lifetime member of the National Council of Negro Women. and a devoted member of the Washington/Lincoln Alumni Association of Dallas, Texas.

On April 20 at 10:00 a.m., a life well-lived will be celebrated at Beebe Memorial Cathedral CME Church, 3900 Telegraph Ave., Oakland, CA under the leadership of Rev. Antoine Shyne.

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Commentary

Opinion: Surviving the Earthquake, an Eclipse and “Emil Amok.”

Last Friday, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake shook New York City, reported as the “biggest earthquake with an epicenter in the NYC area since 1884” when a 5.2 quake hit. A bit bigger. The last quake similar to Friday’s was a 4.9 in 1783.Alexander Hamilton felt it — 241 years ago. That’s why New Yorkers were freaking out on Friday. They were in the room where it happens.

Published

18 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

In New York City, the eclipse was about 90 percent visible. Good enough for me. Though a full solar eclipse is a celestial rarity, blockages of any sort aren’t generally celebrated. My one-man play is about growing up with the eclipsed history of American Filipinos and how I struggle to unblock all that.

By Emil Guillermo

I’m a Northern Californian in New York City for the next few weeks, doing my one-man show, “Emil Amok, Lost NPR Host, Wiley Filipino, Vegan Transdad.”

I must like performing in the wake of Mother Nature.

Alexander Hamilton felt it — 241 years ago.

That’s why New Yorkers were freaking out on Friday. They were in the room where it happens.

And it just doesn’t happen that often.

Beyonce singing country music happens more frequently.

When I felt New York shake last week, it reminded me of a time in a San Francisco TV newsroom when editors fretted about a lack of news an hour before showtime.

Then the office carpeting moved for a good ten seconds, and the news gods gave us our lead story.

On Friday when it happened in NYC, I noticed the lines in the carpeting in my room wiggling. But I thought it was from a raucous hotel worker vacuuming nearby.

I didn’t even think earthquake. In New York?

I just went about my business as if nothing had happened. After living near fault lines all my life, I was taking things for granted.

Considering the age of structures in New York, I should have been even more concerned about falling objects inside (shelves, stuff on walls) and outside buildings (signs, scaffolding), fire hazards from possible gas leaks, and then I should have looked for others on my floor and in the hotel lobby to confirm or aid or tell stories.

Of course, as a Californian who has lived through and covered quakes in the 4 to 6 magnitude range, I tried to calm down any traumatized New Yorker I encountered by taking full responsibility for bringing in the quake from the Bay Area.

I reassured them things would be all right, and then let them know that 4.8s are nothing.

And then I invited them to my consoling post-Earthquake performance of “Emil Amok, Lost NPR Host…”

It was the night of the eclipse.

ECLIPSING THE ECLIPSE

For example, did you know the first Filipinos actually arrived to what is now California in 1587? That’s 33 years before the Pilgrims arrived in America on the other coast, but few know the Filipino history which has been totally eclipsed.

I was in Battery Park sitting on a bench and there was a sense of community as people all came to look up. A young woman sitting next to me had a filter for a cell phone camera. We began talking and she let me use it. That filter enabled me to take a picture of the main event with my iPhone.

For helping me see, I invited her and her boyfriend to come see my show.

Coincidentally, she was from Plymouth, Massachusetts, near the rock that says the year the Pilgrims landed in 1620.

In my show she learned the truth. The Pilgrims were second.

History unblocked. But it took a solar eclipse.

Next one in 2044? We have a lot more unblocking to do.

If you’re in New York come see my show, Sat. April 13th, 5:20 pm Eastern; Fri. April 19, 8:10 pm Eastern; and Sun. April 21st 5:20 pm Eastern.

You can also livestream the show. Get tickets at www.amok.com/tickets

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He does a mini-talk show on YouTube.com/@emilamok1. He wishes all his readers a Happy Easter!