Mercury News
So this is what it feels like, Matt Cain must have thought.
Not just to beat the Dodgers, something Cain hadn't done in 14 career starts before Sunday afternoon's 2-0 victory. Not just to hear the sonic boom from 42,922 fans jamming China Basin when Edgar Renteria's triple broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning.
And not just to see a pygmy forest of orange brooms held aloft to celebrate the Giants' first home sweep of their archrivals since 2004.
It was something more than that. It was the bass and treble of a city putting not only its lungs but also its belief behind its ballclub.
"We saw some of it when (Barry) Bonds was still here, but this is huge," said Cain (9-8), who threw 72/3 stern shutout innings. "The fans are super supportive. I mean, I heard nothing but good things from everybody."
It was all good for the Giants, from Cain's determination to Renteria's clutch swing to a series of defensive gems to Javier Lopez's two-pitch debut, and finishing with Brian Wilson's healthy save conversion.
The Giants followed up a 20-8 record in July, their winningest month in almost a decade, with an Aug. 1 victory. They are 16 games over .500 for the first time since 2004.
And in front of a national audience on ESPN, they pantsed their archrivals.
"It's kind of an epic story, if you ask me," said Wilson, who was irked to be held out of save situations the previous two days because of back stiffness. "It was killing me not to be a part of this. The only thing I was doing awesome was cheering. "Every time we play the Dodgers, I don't care if it's April 3, I want to be a part of it." So did Renteria, a past-his-prime shortstop who insisted that he had something left. After Pat Burrell doubled off the right-field arcade and Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw fell behind Aaron Rowand on the first two pitches, manager Joe Torre ordered a two-out intentional walk. It was a defensible strategy. Renteria didn't have a hit in 10 career at-bats against Kershaw (10-5), the live-armed young left-hander. But the veteran didn't see it that way. "I always get (ticked) off when they do that," Renteria said. "You never wake up the baby." Renteria hit a screamer, all right. It split the gap in left-center field as Burrell and Rowand raced around the bases. "It's what he does," Rowand said. "It's what he's done his entire career." It was the hit Cain needed countless times against the Dodgers. He entered the afternoon with an 0-8 record and a 4.32 ERA in 14 starts against them — mostly hard-luck losses, with a few stinkers in the bunch. Questions about the winless run had gone from curious coincidence to a flat-out therapy session. But he slipped well-placed breaking balls through the late-afternoon shadows and underneath swings, and after 124 pitches, he will never have to answer that question again. "He just looked very determined to get this done," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He just had that look — great concentration on every pitch. I'm sure it's been wearing on him. "It looked like it was time to put this behind him." Cain needed help after pinch hitter Jamey Carroll lined a two-out single in the eighth. So Bochy called on his new toy, the left-handed Lopez, acquired a day earlier from the Pirates. And the sidewinder did his job in two pitches — a first-pitch strike, then another that induced a tapper to the mound from Scott Podsednik. Lopez has pitched in the middle of a Yankees-Red Sox skirmish, so he knows a rivalry atmosphere. "This one was a different feel, to be honest," he said. "This one seemed like the fans were really passionate. I heard "Beat L.A." the whole game. With the Red Sox and Yankees, you usually hear it from whoever's winning." For once against the Dodgers, Cain heard it, too. "I wanted to win," he said, "but more than that, we needed to do it as a group."
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