Mercury News
It took just one inning Monday night for the Giants to wash away the bad vibes of a disappointing trip.
The slumping lineup jumped all over Cincinnati starter Edinson Volquez, knocking him out in the first inning of an 11-2 victory over the National League Central-leading Reds. The Giants batted around in the inning, scoring five runs on five hits and three walks.
That was more than enough support for Matt Cain (10-10), who gave up two runs and five hits in eight innings, while improving to 47-8 in his career when given at least three runs of support.
"You try not to do anything different or relax," Cain said of the big early lead. "You've just got to keep going out there thinking it's 0-0 and keep pitching your game."
The Alabama native looked right at home on a rare 75-degree night at AT&T Park, striking out seven and walking just one. Cain retired the final 14 batters he faced.
He had thrown 112 pitches through seven innings but told manager Bruce Bochy he felt great before setting down the side in order in the eighth.
Ultimately, Cain threw 125 pitches, the first time this year and fourth time in his career he has hit the 125-pitch mark.
"He had a good seventh inning and wasn't laboring," Bochy said. "He's a strong kid. The way he was throwing, we just let him go."
By that point Cain had received a season-high 11 runs of support from an offense that peppered every corner of spacious AT&T Park. Andres Torres led off the first with a walk, Buster Posey beat out a slow roller to third, and Aubrey Huff blasted a double off the center-field wall. Torres and Posey scored easily, and Huff came around two pitches later when Pat Burrell roped a hanging curveball down the left-field line. Pablo Sandoval lined an RBI single two batters later, and Freddy Sanchez followed Juan Uribe's walk with a run-scoring double. The Giants loaded the bases with two out before Reds manager Dusty Baker finally pulled Volquez (3-2), temporarily stopping the onslaught. Volquez served up the Giants' biggest first inning since June 2, 2008, and received a tongue-in-cheek standing ovation as he walked away from his shortest career start. "Everybody says hitting is contagious," said Huff, who hit his team-leading 22nd homer in the eighth. "You're able to go out there and breathe and not worry about failing. It just kind of snowballed." The Reds, who had won eight of their past nine, briefly cut into the deficit in the third inning. Scott Rolen made it 5-2 with a two-out, two-run triple, but the Giants got the runs back in the bottom of the inning on Torres' two-run homer to center. Torres had earlier become the first San Francisco Giant to draw two walks in the first inning. His patience helped the Giants get into the Reds' bullpen early. Sanchez had his first four-hit game as a Giant, and Sandoval stayed hot with three hits, including a two-run double in the eighth. "There's no question getting (Sanchez and Sandoval) going is the key to our offense, the key to our success," Huff said. "We need them." The Giants badly needed a win to kick off a nine-game homestand after losing four of six on last week's trip and losing ground in the NL West and wild-card races. "We put ourselves in a little bit of a bind, and we've got a couple (teams) now that we're chasing," Cain said. "We've just got to keep playing good and go out there and finish the year strong."
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