Giants' Cain could sue for lack of support

TWO SOLO HOMERS PLENTY AS HAREN THROWS A SHUTOUT

Andrew Baggarly - MercuryNews

The Giants could sign Pat Burrell. They could trade for Adrian Beltre or Prince Fielder. They could exhume Babe Ruth's body. Heck, they could even bring back Barry Bonds.

Well, maybe not that last one.

They'll look just about anywhere for a power-hitting presence to bring consistency to the lineup. And nobody would welcome it more than Matt Cain.

When Cain crouches in a duck blind over the winter, he won't want to be reminded of starts like Tuesday's 2-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Cain allowed home runs to Chris Snyder and Stephen Drew, which was enough to doom him on yet another night in which he got no support.

Former A's right-hander Dan Haren threw his sixth career complete game and first shutout, striking out Travis Ishikawa with a biting slider to strand runners at the corners and finish a four-hitter.

"I went up there with a plan,'' said Ishikawa, "and it seemed he was reading my mind.''

You didn't need to look at Tarot cards to predict Cain would have another lean night. The Giants failed to score behind him for the seventh time this season; he has received one run or less in 14 of his 32 starts.

Cain's average support of 3.30 runs is the second-lowest among all National League pitchers; only Cincinnati's Aaron Harang (2.98 runs) has had less margin for error. Cain also received the second-worst run support in the league last year, with 3.51 runs.

It's no wonder, then, that the Giants have a 21-42 record in Cain's starts over the past two seasons — a shocking failure behind a pitcher generally regarded as one of the brightest young arms in the game.

"It's not like anybody is trying to pick on me,'' Cain said. "Guys are doing all they can. It'll make me stronger down the road. By getting used to pitching in these tight games, that's how you get better.''

Cain said he most lamented the starts in which he frittered away leads or didn't give the club a chance to win. He was coming off one of those starts Thursday at San Diego, in which he got blasted for five runs in the first inning.

He refocused while throwing between starts and didn't walk a batter, but it took perfection to win on a night that Haren had both precision and prescience on his side.

Haren played mind games in the eighth, after Conor Gillaspie came off the bench and made crisp contact on his first major league hit. Pinch hitter John Bowker was next. Haren turned to the scoreboard and noted that the rookie had drawn 19 walks all season.

"I didn't throw him one strike,'' said Haren, who offered a succession of splitters that Bowker swung through. "He's up there trying to tie the game, so I tried to take advantage of his aggressiveness.''