SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle
The mathematics for the Giants are starting to get ugly, just like Matt Cain's numbers in a 10-8 loss to Arizona on Tuesday night that stung as much as the near certainty now that their season will end after Game 162.
The Rockies own a five-game lead over San Francisco and Atlanta for the wild card with 11 to play, the Giants' longshot bid being undermined by some horrendous pitching that continued at Chase Field.
Cain advanced a sorry trend of Giants starters getting blitzed on this trip when the Diamondbacks knocked him out in the third inning for the shortest start of his career, except for the July 11 game against San Diego in which he was forced out by a line drive to his arm.
Eugenio Velez, Andres Torres and Pablo Sandoval combined for nine hits atop the order, with Sandoval driving in three with a single and two-run triple. The Giants were down 10-5 before scoring three in the ninth on a night when eight runs was not enough.
Five Giants starters have lasted an aggregate of 152/3 innings while surrendering 26 earned runs on a trip that is sealing the team's doom.
"As good as they've been, you knew they were going to trip once in awhile," manager Bruce Bochy said. "It just happened it's been the whole rotation."
Cain allowed a season-worst seven runs, four in a six-run third inning that gave Arizona a 9-4 lead. Cain, who blew leads of 3-0 and 4-3, has one win in his last 11 starts and a 6.75 ERA over his last five.
Arizona scored twice more in the third against Waldis Joaquin before Madison Bumgarner got the final two outs.
Bumgarner had the distinction of dealing Mark Reynolds his 205th strikeout, as the Arizona third baseman broke his own single-season record.
Cain's trouble began after he hit a two-run standup triple in the second inning against Doug Davis. The triple was the first by a Giants pitcher since Tim Lincecum's in Chicago on July 13, 2008, and only the fourth since 2000. That 270-foot dash for Cain might have worked in Arizona's favor.
Cain barely had time to catch his breath and regain his legs before returning to the mound, and the Diamondbacks took advantage and tied the game 3-3 as four of the inning's first five batters hit safely, including doubles by Reynolds and Brandon Allen.
Torres and Sandoval provided Cain another lead with a triple and single in the third, but four of the first five Diamondbacks reached in the bottom half.
When Gerardo Parra hit an RBI double that originally was ruled a home run until being reversed on replay, Arizona led 6-4 and Cain's night was over.
Bochy agreed that one has to wonder if running out the triple had an effect. Cain said it was a nonissue. Rather, he said, he kept making the same mistakes over and over, throwing too many fat pitches in the zone.
"It's been bad," Cain said, referring to the run of poor outings by the starters. "All of us haven't done what we want to do. We've had a chance to win and let it go. It's very disappointing. We're a group that wants to push each other. Everybody wants to pick each other up. I felt I let a lot of guys down."
After the game, Bochy revealed that Freddy Sanchez, who reinjured his left knee Monday, has more tearing in his meniscus. Bochy said Sanchez will miss "a few days, if not more."
 San Francisco (81-70) Lost 1 | Arizona 10, San Francisco 8 |  Arizona (66-86) Won 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Standings thru 9/22/09 | Recap: SF | ARI | Wrap | Gameday |
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