This late July wild-card showdown was controlled by the steady hand of Giants starter Matt Cain, who showed a raucous Coors Field crowd why he’s one of baseball’s elite pitchers. Cain gave up one run on three hits in seven innings during the Giants’ 3-1 victory Friday night.
A day after White Sox ace Mark Buehrle tossed a perfect game against Tampa Bay, Cain no-hit the Rockies for 4 2/3 innings before Ian Stewart punched a two-out single to right. Brad Hawpe, who reached on a walk, advance to third on Stewart’s hit, but was stranded when Chris Iannetta popped out meekly to end the inning.
No surprise there. Opposing batters are hitting .088 (4-for-45) against Cain with two outs and runners in scoring position.
The Rockies finally landed a solid punch in the sixth. Ryan Spilborghs hit a two-out double and trotted home on Garrett Atkins’ missile over the head of left fielder Fred Lewis.
The closest the Rockies came to a hit in the first four innings was Dexter Fowler’s blistering shot down the third-base line leading off the fourth. But Pablo Sandoval — a.k.a. Kung Fu Panda — flagged down the ball and threw out the fleet Fowler by a step.
Rockies starter Jason Hammel, winless since June 26, pitched a workmanlike six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits.
