minute Barry Bonds went into baseball exile, the producers of ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" glanced back at China Basin and said, "Nice knowing ya."
The "Worldwide Leader" (of everything that occurs between New York and Boston) did not showcase the Giants on its premier game for more than two years until returning Sunday night. It probably had something to do with the Mets being here.
Those who tuned in saw the Giants show some atypical emotion as they won 2-0. It was not the national-TV thing as much as their four-game losing streak and a keen desire not to be the first San Francisco team ever swept at home in four games by the Mets.
By the time Brian Wilson pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn his ninth save and douse the memories of his two losses in the series, the Giants and 43,012 fans had whipped one another into a frenzy.
"You could definitely tell it from the crowd. It was way vibrant," Wilson said. "You could feel the emotion on the mound. Usually I drown it out, but you can get a boost when you feel the crowd getting so into it."
Matt Cain, Bob Howry, Jeremy Affeldt and Wilson combined to deal the Mets' combustive offense its first shutout of 2009.
The Giants employed their tried-and-true method. They scored first, improving to a majors-best 15-0 when they do, and saddled up on their pitchers. Bengie Molina and Cain drove in the runs with singles in the first and fifth innings with Cain coming through after fouling off a suicide squeeze bunt attempt on a pitch headed for his shin.
The Giants benefited from three balks by Mets starter Mike Pelfrey, the first major-leaguer in 15 years to do that in one game.
The real emotion emerged when the Giants were on the field. Mild-mannered Travis Ishikawa pumped his fist after starting and completing a difficult home-to-first double play in the second inning after Cain walked the bases loaded. Affeldt looked like a madman after he induced an Angel Pagan double play with the bags full in the eighth.
The crowd reserved one of its biggest cheers for Cain, not for a strikeout, but after he barreled into shortstop Fernando Tatis to prevent a double play.
"To get the key outs the way we did, Ishi making the play he did to get the double play, getting the double play with Pagan - he's pretty fast - everything was big," Affeldt said. "The way they beat us the last few games, we needed to pull this one out and we did."
Cain labored through six busy innings and became the Giants' first four-game winner. He matched his season high with five walks, but like the other time in Colorado, he completed six shutout innings.
"I didn't feel I was just throwing the ball off the back screen. I've done that before," Cain said. "I was missing around the plate. Sometimes it's going to be like that."
There was some talk in the Mets' clubhouse before the game that Cain tips his pitches, using a different leg kick for offspeed deliveries. If so, they did not use it to their advantage. Cain said this has not been an issue but promised to review some video.
Wilson said the right things about how his save meant more for the team, but given his ninth-inning lapses Thursday and Friday, he had to release a big "whew" as he shook hands after the 27th out. The same goes for the entire squad.
"Some wins are bigger than others," manager Bruce Bochy said. "No question we needed that one. We had the losing streak, and the last thing we wanted to do was get swept here four games. This was a big win for us."
May days
Matt Cain is suddenly 4-1, but he has alternated between brilliant and mundane during his four starts in May:
| Date | Opp. | IP | H | ER | ERA |
| 5/2 | Col. | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3.09 |
| 5/7 | @Col | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2.61 |
| 5/12 | Was. | 7 | 9 | 4 | 3.00 |
| 5/17 | NYM | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2.65 |
 NY Mets (21-16) Lost 1 | San Francisco 2, NY Mets 0 |  San Francisco (19-18) Won 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Standings thru 5/17/09 | Recap: NYM | SF | Wrap | Gameday |
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