Cain's gem answers critics

Henry Schulman - San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate)

Imagine a pitcher built like a Humvee who surely will record his 500th big-league strikeout and 30th win before his 24th birthday. He already has a menacing mid-90s fastball and a quality curveball, slider and changeup that lack only consistency of delivery. Would you find fault with this pitcher?

Believe it or not, there are rumblings in the Giants' fandom about Matt Cain, questions about his upside because he is not one of the league's biggest winners yet. The rejoinder is simple. Cain is still 23. He has not made 100 big-league starts yet.

His 88th was a thing of gold, his best of the season. He blanked the Cubs on two hits for eight innings and struck out 10 in a 2-1 victory Tuesday night, the Giants' fourth in their last 19 home games.

And for those who believe we saw the best of Cain last year or the year before?

"I just say stick around and watch the show," closer Brian Wilson said. "He's still young. He's still maturing. Every pitcher gets in a rut. You can fix it. That tonight was the epitome of pitching. That's the Matt Cain I remember when I first came up in '06."

Cain lasted eight innings for the second time in three starts and earned his fifth win, which he did not accomplish last year until Aug. 18. It was his longest scoreless outing since he shut out the Rockies for eight innings on Sept. 14, 2006.

Wilson allowed a run in the ninth after Derrek Lee's leadoff triple but struck out Ryan Theriot on a vicious up-and-in fastball, with two aboard, for his 23rd save.

The Giants won for the fourth time in their last 19 home games, and Cain will be the first to admit he had lots of help in getting his team there.

Fred Lewis ignited the Giants with a single and double, two of the four hits against Jason Marquis in seven innings. Lewis scored both Giants runs, one on a double steal and the other on a Randy Winn single.

The defense also came up roses. Aaron Rowand made a running catch at the track on a Jim Edmonds blast with a man aboard in the seventh inning. In the eighth, Cain's night ended when Jose Castillo dived to stop a Mark DeRosa smash. Castillo bounced a long throw as he was rising and John Bowker made a nice pick at first.

Still, Cain was the ringmaster, neutralizing the league's highest-scoring offense with lively and well-spotted fastballs, beautiful rainbow curves and changeups.

"It was definitely something that was very much needed after my last start," Cain said, referring to a four-run, five-inning loss at Cleveland. "Coming into this start I was anxious to get it going, especially against these guys, who are doing so well."

With his fourth-inning strikeout of Daryle Ward, Cain reached 100 for the season, giving the Giants three 100-strikeout pitchers by the All-Star break for the first time in San Francisco history. Tim Lincecum has a league-leading 114 and Jonathan Sanchez 102.

With an ability to blow the ball by hitters as a 20-year-old rookie, Cain drew comparisons to every great power pitcher in the book. When he did not become Roger Clemens by 23, the whispers started. But baseball people who are asked about Cain look at his age and stuff and laugh at the questions.

Cain just needs to develop a consistent "out" pitch and learn to repeat his mechanics, they say. Meanwhile, some of the theories for his inconsistency are fascinating. According to one, he has gotten out of sorts by jealously trying to out-Lincecum Lincecum.

"We're always going to be competitive," Cain said. "But it's not like I'm mad at him or mad at myself because I'm not able to have the numbers he has."

Cain's win was born in the first inning when the Giants gave him a 1-0 lead. One of the team's best statistical splits in 2008 is their record when they score first: 25-15.

Lewis hit a leadoff single and advanced on Ray Durham's walk. After Winn grounded into a force, manager Bruce Bochy called for a hit-and-run with Bengie Molina, who foul-tipped a high fastball into Geovany Soto's glove. As soon as Soto threw to second, Lewis bolted for home, on his own, and made it without a throw. Lewis said it was his first steal of home ever.

"I've always wanted to do it," Lewis said, "but I wanted to do it like Omar (Vizquel) did."

Lewis is 27. He has a lot of years to accomplish a straight steal of home, just as Cain has a lot of years to become the star everyone expects him to be.