On June 13, 2012, San Francisco Giants' pitcher Matt Cain achieved perfection. I promise not to sit here and gush over it for too long, but really it's an incredible feat that I am proud to say I witnessed. In his perfect game, he struck out a record-tying 14 batters (Sandy Koufax), threw the most pitches ever in a perfect game (125), and was the first pitcher in Giants' franchise history to pitch a perfect game. So to say that the night was momentous might be an understatement.
However exciting that game was, the Giants won and it is now in the past. With the struggles of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain will pitch tonight (June 18) against the franchise that beat the Giants in the 2002 World Series - it's also the first trip for the Giants to Anaheim since that series. So the situation at hand begs the question, "What will Matt Cain do in his follow-up performance?"
With the way that Cain has pitched this entire season I wouldn't be surprised if he had one of his trademark games where he is absolutely dominant. I can't imagine Cain as the type of person who would hold the pressure of his perfect game against himself in his upcoming starts. I imagine he has celebrated the fact that he achieved such an incredible feat and has moved on as he tries to help the Giants close the gap in the NL West - a gap that was opened up slightly as they dropped two-of-three in Seattle.
I thought about Cain's chances of having a repeat performance, but quickly dismissed the notion as it would probably be as likely as winning the lottery 300 days in a row - or something even more ludicrous. If anything, Cain will put together a solid outing as he tries to do something else for the first time in his career. He is looking to earn his eighth straight win without a loss. He won seven straight games without recording a loss in 2009 and twice in 2006 he won five straight games without recording a loss. So the potential has been there, it has simply been a feat that has eluded Cain - similar to how he had been close to a no-hitter on several occasions throughout his career.
As far as my prediction goes for tonight (June 18) I think that Cain's line will look something like this:
7.2 IP, 2 ER, 9 K, 2 BB, and 0 HR
I look forward to watching Cain continue his magical season against the Los Angeles Angels and former Giants' pitcher Jerome Williams.
Food for thought: What do you expect from Matt Cain tonight against the Angels? Will he continue to pitch lights-out or will he have a trip up after achieving perfection?
David is co-founder of wrapupp sports blog where fresh content is posted daily and present sports blogs and sports opinions - all with a West Coast bias. Growing up in the Bay Area, David is a huge supporter of all the local sports teams; the Giants, Athletics, Warriors, Sharks, 49ers, and Raiders. His one fault, admittedly, as many of his friends and family would say, is his love for the Los Angeles Lakers. Growing up, Magic Johnson was his favorite basketball player and he fell in love with the team. He chalks it up to, "Not knowing any better". Now his love for sports has turned just as academic as it is intuitive and he follows most all sports all over the nation.
You can follow David on Twitter: @officialwrapupp
Sources:
Baseball-Reference.com. Matt Cain career stats. MLB 2012.
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