After the Giants exploded for a seven-run eighth inning that turned Game 2 of the World Series into a blowout, it would've been easy to forget that the Rangers didn't score a run, and that, until the bottom of the eighth, this was a tight contest. The guy responsible for keeping the Rangers off the board - Matt Cain - is deserving of much recognition.
Cain was just on top of his game all evening long. He wasn't pitching for misses, and he wasn't racking up the strikeouts, but he was pitching for weak contact, and he got it. All night, he stayed away from the middle of the zone, and all night, Rangers hitters had trouble squaring him up.
Cain was perfect in the first. He was perfect in the second. He was perfect in the fourth. He was perfect in the seventh. Cain did a terrific job of making sure he didn't find himself in many jams.
And when he did get into a sticky situation, he managed to work his way out. The most visible example came in the top of the sixth. The Giants had just taken a 1-0 lead the previous inning on an Edgar Renteria home run. After picking up an out, Cain allowed consecutive singles to Michael Young and Josh Hamilton, putting two runners on. And after throwing a wild pitch, Cain was suddenly working against cleanup hitter Nelson Cruz with one down and two in scoring position.
But he was able to escape when he got Cruz to pop out in foul territory and Ian Kinsler to fly out harmlessly to right. The top of the sixth wasn't the inning that did the Rangers in, but it was something of a backbreaker.
Of note is that Cain did allow Kinsler to hit this fly ball in the top of the fifth:
But the ball stayed in the yard, and Kinsler would end up stranded at second after his leadoff double.
Cain's night ended at the 7.2-inning mark, having allowed four hits and two walks on 102 pitches. He still hasn't allowed an earned run in the playoffs over three starts, becoming one of just five pitchers in baseball history to throw at least 20 innings in one playoffs without allowing an earned run. He's given the Giants every reason to believe in their second starter, and in the event that he gets another go in this series - which is no guarantee - he'll have everyone's trust.