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Eight more teams had their home openers today and several of them gave the hometown fans plenty to cheer about with some spectacular pitching performances.

Cain is able
The San Francisco Giants shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-0, as Matt Cain threw a complete game one-hitter with no walks and 11 strikeouts for the win. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Cain is the only pitcher to throw a one-hitter in the team’s home opener in Giants franchise history.

The only hit Cain allowed was a single to Pirates pitcher James McDonald. Elias also tells us that Cain is the first pitcher since R.A. Dickey in 2010 to throw a 1-hitter in which the hit was allowed to the opposing pitcher. The last Giants pitcher to do it was Hal Schumacher in 1935.

Cain worked his fastball in the middle of the zone and above, throwing 48 of his 60 heaters there.

The Pirates couldn’t handle the high heat, with just one hit and four strikeouts in 14 at-bats ending with a fastball.

Of Cain's 11 strikeouts, eight were on pitches out of the zone. The Pirates swung and missed at 58 percent of Cain's pitches out of the zone.

Hello, Hiroki
The New York Yankees blanked the Los Angeles Angels, 5-0, winning for the 14th time in their last 15 home openers. Hiroki Kuroda shined in his Yankee Stadium debut, tossing eight scoreless innings to earn his first victory in pinstripes.

Kuroda is the fifth Yankee pitcher to throw eight shutout innings in his Yankee Stadium debut in the Divisional Era (since 1969) and the first to do it since Jimmy Key in 1993 against the Royals. Kuroda shut down the Angels right-handed bats, who were 2-for-14 with five strikeouts when facing Kuroda.

Beckett bounces back
The Boston Red Sox kicked off their home schedule with a much-needed victory, crushing the Tampa Bay Rays 12-2.

The Red Sox broke the game open with eight runs in the eighth inning, scoring as many runs in that frame as they had in their previous three games combined.

Josh Beckett allowed just one run in eight innings, bouncing back from his first start of the season when he allowed five home runs against the Tigers. Beckett had success throwing to the glove side, as the Rays went 0-for-7 in at-bats ending with a pitch in that location.

Peavy pitches in
The Chicago White Sox sent the defending AL Central champions home with a 5-2 loss, snapping a 6-game losing streak to the Detroit Tigers. The White Sox have now won five straight and 11 of their last 13 home openers.

Jake Peavy, who went just 3-6 with a 6.11 ERA at home last season, was in fine form for the White Sox this afternoon. He allowed just two runs on two hits with eight strikeouts in 6⅔ innings to earn his first win of the season.

Peavy was able to finish off the Tigers hitters, who were 1-for-15 with eight strikeouts in at-bats ending with a two-strike count. The Detroit lineup also had trouble with his high pitches, going hitless with four strikeouts in six at-bats ending with a pitch up in the zone or above.

The New York Mets and San Francisco Giants square off in this week's Sunday Night Baseball (ESPN, 8 ET) matchup.

Mike Pelfrey gets the ball for the Mets and enters the game with some historic numbers. Pelfrey has a 3.53 career ERA at home and a 5.44 career ERA on the road. According to Elias, Pelfrey has by far the largest discrepancy between his home and road ERA (in which the road is higher) among active pitchers (minimum 750 IP).

Next on that list would be Wandy Rodriguez (3.40 home, 4.89 road). This season, Pelfrey is 3-0 with a 2.96 ERA at home and 2-7 with a 6.05 ERA on the road. His 5.44 career ERA on the road is the fourth highest among active pitchers (min. 250 IP).

To read more about Pelfrey's road struggles, click here.

The Giants counter with Matt Cain, who also brings a unique distinction with him to the mound. According to Elias, Cain has the lowest career run support of any active pitcher with 150-plus starts (through Friday).

If there's one thing the Giants are not afraid of this season, it's close games. The Giants are 25-12 in one-run games this season, which puts them on pace for 45 one-run wins. The 1978 Giants hold the MLB record for most wins by one run with 42.

Nineteen of those 25 wins in one-run games have been at home. They are on pace for 37 one-run wins at home.

The franchise record (since 1901) for one-run wins at home is 24 in 1978 (24-10). The modern MLB record (since 1901) for one-run wins at home is 28. Of the three teams to do that, two won the World Series: the 1940 Reds and the 1943 Yankees. The third, the 1974 Orioles, lost in the American League Championship Series.

If there's one thing the Giants are afraid of this season, it's scoring runs at home. The Elias Sports Bureau tells us that San Francisco is the only team in the majors that has yet to score more than six runs in a home game this season. Every other team has had at least three such games, with Texas leading the way -- scoring six or more runs in 21 home games this season.

The Giants’ current single-season streak of 43 consecutive home games scoring six or fewer runs is the longest since the 1942 Phillies had a 55-game streak from May 23 to September 27. And it’s the longest to start a season since the Pirates did it in their first 42 games of the 1917 season.

Today’s Trivia: Monday is the 50th anniversary of the first game in Los Angeles Angels history. Can you name the two players with the most games played for the Angels who never made an appearance for another franchise?

After beating the New York Yankees Sunday on ESPN, the Boston Red Sox will try and win two in a row for the first time this season when they host the Tampa Bay Rays at 7 ET on ESPN.

Jeremy Hellickson will face Daisuke Matsuzaka in tonight's game. Hitters leading off an inning are just 6-for-41 (.146) with a walk against Hellickson, including 0-for-6 in his first start of the season. Compare that to Matsuzaka, who allows leadoff hitters to reach base 36 percent of the time.

Offensively, the Rays are struggling and have received very little production from the position once manned by Carlos Pena. Since the start of last season, Rays first basemen are hitting just .186. They hit .194 in 2009, but at least they drew 109 walks. This year, in nine games, their first basemen have drawn none.

With three straight three-hit games, Dustin Pedroia is one player who's swinging a hot bat for Boston. Only four Red Sox in the last 50 years have had at least three hits in four straight games: 2005 Edgar Renteria; 1992 Jody Reed; 1984 Wade Boggs; and 1974 Carlton Fisk.

Elsewhere around MLB:
• The Florida Marlins' Chris Coghlan didn’t record his first extra-base hit until his 104th at-bat of 2010. Despite hitting just .200 this season, he’s tied for the National League lead with five doubles.

• Prince Fielder is 10-for-16 (.625) in two-strike counts, and 4-for-19 (.211) in all other situations. Last season, Fielder hit .182 in two-strike counts.

• A big reason behind Jorge Posada’s .138 batting average? He has a .059 batting average on balls in play (BABIP). Last season the league average was .300.

• Jonny Gomes leads the majors with 12 walks, almost one-third his season total from 2010 (39). He picked up his 12th walk last season on May 28.

• Cleveland's Asdrubal Cabrera already has four game-winning RBI, two fewer than in 2010.

• The Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki is 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and 6-for-18 in all other situations.

• Opponents are a combined 0-22 against Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum with runners in scoring position.

Trivia Answer: Tim Salmon (1,672) and Gary DiSarcina (1,086) have played the most games for the Angels without appearing for another franchise.

-- Mark Simon contributed to this report

The San Francisco Giants take a 2-0 lead in the 106th edition of the Fall Classic with a 9-0 shutout of the Texas Rangers.

The Giants have history on their side as they head to Arlington for Game 3 on Saturday. Of the 49 teams all-time to take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven World Series, 39 have won the whole thing.

The 9-0 blanking ties the largest shutout in a World Series game in franchise history, and is the largest by any team since the 1985 Royals beat the Cardinals 11-0 in Game 7. The only other National League team with a larger shutout in a World Series game was the Cardinals 11-0 win over the Tigers in Game 7 of the 1934 Fall Classic.

One night after an 11-7 win, the Giants become the first National League team to score at least nine runs in consecutive World Series games. The last time any team did that was the 2002 Angels in Game 2 and 3. Only two other NL teams have scored at least nine runs in back-to-back postseason games: the Braves in the 1993 NLCS and the Mets in the 1969 NLCS.

The Giants led 2-0 entering the eighth inning and exploded for seven runs in the frame, all of them coming with two outs. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only one other team has scored at least seven runs with two outs in a single inning of a World Series game: the Red Sox tallied seven two-out runs in the fifth inning of Game 1 in 2007.

Matt Cain continued his postseason brilliance, pitching shutout ball for the third time in three starts. The Elias Sports Bureau tells us that Cain is the sixth pitcher all-time with three starts in a postseason in which he didn't allow an earned run, and the first since Kenny Rogers in 2006.

He now has gone 21 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run to start his postseason career. That is the sixth-longest streak in major-league history, and second-longest in Giants history, trailing only Christy Mathewson. Cain and Mathewson are only Giants pitchers with three starts in the same postseason in which they allowed no earned runs.

Edgar Renteria homered and had three RBI from the number eight slot in the batting order. Fred Merkle in 1913 is the only other Giants starting No. 8 hitter with at least three RBI in a World Series game. The last No. 8 hitter to get three RBI in a non-DH World Series game was Tom Lawless for 1987 Cardinals, who hit a three-run home run in Game 3. The Giants now have four homers from their No. 8 hitters, matching the 1998 Yankees for the most in a single postseason.

As the Giants try for their first title since the franchise moved to San Francisco, they will look to continue a trend of dominance by recent teams taking a two-games-to-none lead: The Giants are the fourth team since 2004 to go up 2-0 in the Fall Classic. The other three teams – the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007, and the White Sox in 2005 – each swept the series.

A quick preview of Game 2 of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants.

The Giants will try and sweep the first two games of the World Series at home, although history is not on their side. The American League team has won Game 2 in each of the last eight seasons. The last National League team to win a Game 2 is the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks.

Thirteen previous teams have won the World Series in their first appearance, as the Rangers are trying to do this year. Six of those teams came back to win that series after losing Game 1. And two of them did it against the Giants.

The winner of Game 1 of the World Series has won six of seven and 11 of the last 13 Fall Classics. There have been 101 Best-of-7 World Series all-time and the Game 1 winner has won the series more than 62 percent of the time.

Matt Cain takes the hill for the Giants, his first start since holding the Phillies to no runs and two hits in seven innings nine days ago. Cain’s undefeated in two postseason starts and has not allowed an earned run yet. And he’s had a lot of success against the Rangers’ hitters.

The biggest decision facing Ron Washington in Game 2 is whether to start Vladimir Guerrero in right field. If Vlad doesn’t get the call, expect it to be the left-handed David Murphy (who would play left, with Nelson Cruz in right) over the right-handed Jeff Francoeur. Not only does Murphy have the platoon advantage -- although he is hitless in four career at-bats against Cain -- but Francoeur is 0-14 lifetime against the Giants hurler. His 15 plate appearances are the most among all hitters who are hitless against Cain.

The Rangers counter with C.J. Wilson, who is 1-1 in three postseason starts. Texas has lost Wilson’s last two starts, both in the ALCS against the New York Yankees, with Wilson allowing eight earned runs in twelve innings, and walking as many batters as he struck out. He’s only faced players on the Giants roster 18 times in his career, but Pat Burrell has two hits (both doubles) and a walk in three career plate appearances against Wilson.

Neither pitcher will be particularly excited to see Sam Holbrook calling balls and strikes tonight. Wilson has a 5.40 ERA in seven relief appearances, while Cain is 1-3 with a 5.06 ERA in four career starts with Holbrook behind the plate.

The San Francisco Giants' Matt Cain became the fifth National League starter to pitch at least seven innings, allow no runs, two hits or fewer and win a league championship series game, and the first since Josh Beckett in 2003 against the Chicago Cubs.

There have now been four starts this postseason (Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, Cliff Lee, Cain) of at least seven innings, allowing two hits or fewer and no runs. That's the most such starts in a single postseason, surpassing the previous mark of three in both 1999 and 2000.

The Phillies were 0-for-9 against pitches by Cain that were not fastballs. Combined with the Atlanta Braves' performance from last week, hitters are 1-15 (.067 batting average) against Cain's "soft stuff" this postseason.

Cain retired the leadoff hitter in all seven innings he pitched. It was also the second straight postseason start that he did not allow an extra-base hit.

The Giants are the fourth team in history to get a pair of starts of seven innings or more, allowing no runs and two hits or fewer in the same postseason.

This marks the first time the Giants have had two shutouts in the same postseason since the 1917 World Series.

Cody Ross now has seven RBI in seven postseason games, matching the total he had in 33 games (73 at-bats) with the Giants during the regular season. Ross also has at least one RBI in each game in this series. The only player in Giants history with an RBI in five straight postseason games is Barry Bonds in 2002.

This is the sixth time the Philadelphia Phillies have trailed a best-of-7 series two games to one. Only once have the Phillies come back to win that series.

A quick preview of Game 3 of the National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants.

FROM ELIAS SPORTS BUREAU: In a seven game series, teams who win Game 3 after being tied 1-1 are 56-23 to win the series.

The Phillies are 3-7 in AT&T Park since 2008. They hit .175 in three games there this season, losing two of them. But since 2008, the Phils are 9-6 in postseason games on the road.

Cole Hamels will start Game 3 for the Phillies, and his 6.12 ERA in four starts at AT&T Park is his worst in any ballpark that he’s pitched in more than once. However, Hamels is 4-0 in four career postseason road starts with a 2.22 ERA. Hamels is one of four pitchers in postseason history to win his first four postseason road starts from the start of his career, joining Lefty Gomez, Bob Gibson, and Kevin Brown.

In two starts against the Giants this season, Hamels has been roughed up for 16 hits and 9 runs in 11 innings (7.36 ERA). The Giants have been aggressive with Hamels, hitting a whopping .706 (12-17) on pitches early in the count. When Hamels gets to two strikes, he’s nearly unhittable: the Giants are just 2-for-25 in two-strike counts.

Giants outfielder Cody Ross will be excited to see Hamels on the mound Tuesday. Ross is 9-30 in his career against Hamels with four home runs. That's his most home runs off of any pitcher and the most home runs Hamels has allowed to any hitter.

Of the 21 pitchers who Ross has faced at least 15 times, his slugging percentage of .733 against Hamels ranks second. The only pitcher he slugs better against is Oliver Perez (.889). And Ross has a history of hitting for power against left-handed pitching. Among active players, with a minimum of 500 plate appearances against lefties, Ross’ .595 slugging percentage is fifth. The players ahead of him: Albert Pujols, Ryan Braun, Manny Ramirez and David Wright.

Hamels might want to throw his off-speed pitches, especially early in the count, when he faces Ross. All four home runs that Ross has hit off Hamels have come against fastballs, and all have come early in the count. In addition, all three homers that Ross has hit in the NLCS have come against fastballs.

The Giants counter with Matt Cain, who went 6 ⅔ innings allowing zero earned runs, in his postseason debut against the Atlanta Braves. He lost his only start against the Phillies this season, but allowed only two earned runs in six innings. In his career, Cain is 0-3 in five starts against Philadelphia, and his 6.23 ERA is his highest against any team that he’s faced more than once.

Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley both have great histories against Cain: Rollins is 6-for-10 and Utley is 7-for-15 with three home runs. In his career, Cain has allowed more homers to just two other hitters. And of the 59 pitchers that Utley has at least 15 at-bats against (including postseason), his .467 BA against Cain is his best against anyone.

With Ted Barrett behind the plate, things don’t get any better for Cain. He’s started once with Barrett calling balls and strikes, walking four, allowing seven hits and three earned runs in four innings.

Why would San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy flip-flop Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez, so that Sanchez pitches Game 2 of the NLCS against the Philadelphia Phillies in Philadelphia?

There’s a very good reason.

Sanchez beat the Phillies twice during the regular season, holding them to a .114 batting average and two runs in 13 innings. For his career, he’s held the Phillies to a .175 batting average. That’s best among the 75 active pitchers who have thrown at least 30 innings against the Phillies. Change the qualifier to five starts and Sanchez is second-best of anybody in the last 55 years (trailing only Floyd Youmans). He’s even 10 points better than the immortal Sandy Koufax.

The matchups rate favorably for Sanchez against every Phillies hitter, with one exception -- Shane Victorino is 6-for-15 (.400 BA) against him. Other than that, it’s pretty lopsided in Sanchez’s favor. Ryan Howard’s .214 batting average (3-for-14 with seven strikeouts) looks pretty good compared to Carlos Ruiz (.111, 1-for-9), Jimmy Rollins (.067, 1-for-16), Jayson Werth (0-for-12, six strikeouts), Ben Francisco (0-for-8) and Raul Ibanez (0-for-6).

Sanchez allowed one run and two hits in 7⅓ innings in Game 3 of the Division Series against the Atlanta Braves. He’s one of three Giants to have a postseason start of at least seven innings and allowing two hits or fewer, joining teammate Lincecum and Dave Dravecky (1987).

That kind of performance is nothing new. Over the last two seasons, Sanchez has had that sort of performance three times in the regular season, including Aug. 19, when he took a one-hitter into the ninth inning of an eventual 5-2 win over the Phillies.

If history is any indicator, chances are that one of the day-after discussion points about Game 2 of the Braves-Giants NLDS will be on how unfortunate one of the starting pitchers was. That’s the same talk taking place Thursday regarding Braves Game 1 starter Derek Lowe.

For Game 2, the subject of hard luck refers to the run support for Matt Cain and Tommy Hanson, which hasn’t historically correlated with their records. In Hanson’s case, that’s why he was a sub-.500 pitcher this season after the All-Star break. His 2-6 record and 2.51 ERA are largely a product of the Braves' scoring an average of 2.9 runs per game in his 16 second-half starts. Amazingly, over a five-start stretch in July and August, Hanson had a 1.05 ERA and a .169 opponents' batting average … and no wins.

Cain has no sympathy, as this was an issue he dealt with for years. But over the last two seasons, the Giants’ offense has been kind to him, averaging slightly more than four runs per game. That’s significantly better than the three-year run from 2006 to 2008, in which Cain was the least supported pitcher in the majors.

Cain has a good comfort zone at AT&T Park. The Giants have won seven of his past eight starts there, the exception being his final regular-season start against the Padres. In Cain’s last six starts, he had the total support of the Giants' bullpen. Giants relievers allowed one run in 13 innings in Cain’s starts in September and October.

How They Get It Done
For much of the season, Cain’s out pitch was his changeup, but September saw a shift in success. From April to August, Cain threw his curveball with two strikes 13 percent of the time. He upped that to 20 percent in September and used it to get 13 outs in those situations, without giving up a hit in a stretch that lasted until his last appearance.

Hanson’s key is the effectiveness of his slider, which he throws about once every four pitches, but recently the curveball has been a winning option. According to Inside Edge, he didn’t give up a hit with any of the 93 curveballs he threw in his last seven starts.

Matchup to Watch
Braves shortstop Alex Gonzalez is 0-for-9 for his career against Cain, including 0-for-5 against him this season with a pair of strikeouts. That’s within striking distance of Gonzalez’s all-time worst 0-for against a pitcher. He’s 0-for-11 in his career against former Braves reliever Mike Remlinger.

Stat of the Day
The Giants haven’t had consecutive postseason games in which they’ve held their opponent scoreless since doing so in the 1917 World Series.

A capsule stat-based preview of the Braves-Giants NLDS matchup

Top things to know

The Braves-Giants National League Division Series matchup will feature two of the best pitching squads in the National League. The combination of these elite pitching units and average-to-below average offensive lineups sets this series up to be arguably the lowest-scoring of the four.

The Giants ranked second in the National League in both starters’ ERA (3.54) and relievers’ ERA (2.99), while the Braves were fifth among starters (3.80) and third among bullpens (3.11). Both teams were consistently near the top of the ranks throughout the season, but the Giants’ run at the end of the season could prove to be the difference. During the crucial month of September – in the midst of the postseason meat grinder that became the NL West – the Giants posted a 1.78 ERA, holding batters to a paltry .182 batting average.

Deciding factor

The Braves lack of offense is not breaking news, but it’s the lack of power that could be most critical in this series. Both Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain posted the highest home run rates of their careers in 2010, making them arguably more susceptible to the homer than they’ve been in previous years.

Unfortunately, the Braves are sorely lacking power. They have the lowest isolated power (.143) and slugging percentage (.401) of any postseason team. Specifically, the team’s two best power sources – Brian McCann and Jason Heyward – have each seen their power go out down the stretch. McCann (2 HR, .326 slug pct) and Heyward (2 HR, .385 slug pct) both struggled in September and October, mirroring the team's season-long lack of power, and one that could spell trouble for the Braves.

Most interesting matchups

Two of the most compelling figures in this matchup are Braves closer Billy Wagner and Giants catcher Buster Posey. In his final season in the majors, Wagner put together arguably his best campaign, posting his highest Wins Above Replacement (WAR) mark since 2003. In addition, among those with at least 50 innings pitched in 2010, Wagner ranked second in the National League in strikeout rate at 13.5 K per 9, behind only Carlos Marmol.

Wagner was incredibly dominant versus left-handed batters, limiting them to a .071 batting average – just four hits in 56 at-bats - and a tiny .246 OPS. No home runs. No extra-base hits. Against right-handers, however, Wagner surrendered five home runs in 183 at-bats. That is certainly solid work, but noticeably less than his performance against lefties. This sets up a potential late-inning showdown between the southpaw Wagner and the right-handed Buster Posey. Posey dominated lefties this season, hitting .309/.367/.588 against them, with an OPS increase of over 120 points from his marks against righties. The two have faced each other just once – with Wagner forcing him into a groundout – but the postseason could bring a different result.

Statistical secrets

While much of the focus on the Giants offense centers around Posey and Aubrey Huff, perhaps the most dynamic player for the Giants was Andres Torres. A journeyman throughout his career, Torres blossomed in 2010 and his overall package made him one of the most valuable players in baseball.

Despite remaining under the radar for much of the season, Torres ranked second among National League outfielders in WAR – behind only Matt Holliday – and ahead of darlings such as Carlos Gonzalez, Jayson Werth and Heyward. A significant portion of that value was derived from his defense. He ranked first among all outfielders in Ultimate Zone Rating, a potential key advantage given the spacious parks at which this series will be played.

The fact that he missed nearly two weeks after undergoing an appendectomy, yet after returning to the lineup still hit two homers in eight games during the heat of a postseason race, is just another checkmark in his favor.

SIG's Picks

Albert Larcada of ESPN Stats and Info did statistical analysis of the last 10 postseasons, looking for the factors that most separate winning and losing teams. He found three: power hitting, front-end starting pitching and the ability to turn batted balls into outs. Using his findings, he was able to make a projection.

The Giants meet all necessary criteria for a good playoff team. Outstanding front-end starting pitching, the best defensive efficiency in the NL, and decent enough power from their bats. For the Braves-Giants matchup, Larcada's system picks the Giants in four games. He gives the Giants a 58.8 percent chance to win the series overall.

Saturday Notables from the Elias Sports Bureau:

The Detroit Tigers' Max Scherzer has a 1.72 ERA over his last eight starts dating back to July 31. Over that span, only two pitchers have a lower ERA (minimum: 50 IP): the Seattle Mariners' Felix Hernandez (1.07) and the Houston Astros' Wandy Rodriguez (1.63). Scherzer, Hernandez and Rodriguez are all scheduled to start Saturday as well.

Felix Hernandez has started 16 games this season in which he has pitched at least six innings and allowed three or fewer earned runs and failed to get a win. Over the last 15 seasons, only one other pitcher has had that many such starts: the San Francisco Giants' Matt Cain (16 in 2007). The last American League pitcher with at least 16 such starts: Bert Blyleven for the Twins in 1972 (16).

The Baltimore Orioles' Jeremy Guthrie goes for his 10th win of the season tonight against the Tigers. Winning 10 or more games in three consecutive seasons doesn't seem like a big accomplishment, but doing it for a team that ends the season at least 25 games below .500 is. Over the last 30 seasons, only two pitchers won at least 10 games in three consecutive seasons for a team that was at least 25 games below the .500 mark: Scott Kazmir with Tampa Bay (2005-07) and Ben Sheets with the Milwaukee Brewers (2001-04). (The Orioles are currently 33 games under .500.)

The Giants can take sole possession of first place with a win over the San Diego Padres. Over the last 10 seasons, the Giants have been in first place this late in the season only once and that was in 2003 when they won the National League West.

With a win Saturday night over the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cincinnati Reds will end their streak of nine straight seasons with a losing record. Cincinnati has had only two other stretches in which they had at least nine straight losing seasons: 1929 to 1937 and 1945 to 1955.

The San Francisco Giants opened a huge four-game series with the San Diego Padres Thursday with a 7-3 win, pulling them within one game of the N.L. West lead. Matt Cain was great again, as the Giants won for the ninth time in his last 11 starts.

How Giants starter Matt Cain beat the Padres:
• Threw 61% of pitches in the strike zone, his highest in 24 starts (May 1). Recorded 18 swings-and-misses, and 14 of those were on pitches in the zone, the most since June 14, 2008 (82 starts).

• Worked the corners; not a single pitch was right down the heart of the plate (i.e., over the five on your phone).

• Established fastball early, throwing 29 of them in the first three innings, versus only nine off-speed offerings. Didn't throw a single slider until the fourth. For the rest of the game the breakdown was 41 heaters to 37 offspeed.


The St. Louis Cardinals cut their deficit in the N.L. Central to five games behind a strong start from Adam Wainwright, who ended the first four-game losing streak of his career.

How Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright beat the Braves:
• Threw 60% of pitches in the strike zone, third-highest rate of the season and up from 51% over his four-game losing streak.

• Threw 51 of 96 pitches (53%) on the inner part of the plate or inside, and only 31 (32%) away. In his prior four starts (all losses), those percentages were reversed (51% away, 26% in).

• First-pitch strikes to 21 of 29 batters (72.4%), his best in 14 starts and well up from the 56.7% over his losing streak.

• Threw 43 pitches when ahead in the count, and located 54% of those for strikes. Went to only three 3-ball counts, and retired all of those hitters.

• Threw 16 changeups, tied for most in a game this season. Braves went 0-for-5 when putting it in play.

Today’s Trivia: Among active managers, who has managed the most games without making the postseason?

Quick Hits: As the playoff races heat up, several players have some added incentive to extend the season. Here’s a look at notable players with an eye on October, who have never played in the postseason.

• Randy Winn just can’t find himself a playoff team. He’s played 1,698 career games without appearing in the postseason. That’s the most for any active player, and 37th most all-time according to Baseball-Reference.com. Winn joined the Seattle Mariners just after their early-decade dominance. Then he found himself with the San Francisco Giants as they transitioned away from Barry Bonds. After 12 seasons in the bigs, Winn still hadn’t tasted the postseason. Signing with the New York Yankees in the offseason would change that, right? New York released him in May after he hit just .213. Again, Winn had his chance to sign with a contender. On June 5, he signed with the first-place St. Louis Cardinals – a team that is now six games out.

• Michael Young may finally see his long wait come to an end. Making his debut the season after the Texas Rangers' last playoff appearance, Young has the second-most career games among active players who haven’t made the postseason.

• The Giants’ Aubrey Huff, who is third behind Winn and Young, could also find himself playing late into October for the first time. Prior to this season, Huff’s teams were 546-776 in games in which he appeared.

• Among all active pitchers, Francisco Cordero has appeared in the most games without appearing in the postseason. Like Young, he made his Rangers debut the year after their last postseason appearance.

• Roy Halladay has a Cy Young Award and perfect game, but Boof Bonser, Jorge Sosa and Brian Duensing all have something he does not: A playoff start. No active pitcher has made more starts without appearing in the postseason.

Today’s Leaderboard: Adam Dunn, who will be a free agent at the end the season, actually has the fourth-most career homers for a player with no playoff experience. With another typical season for him, he’ll be second behind the all-time leader. Ernie Banks has both the most career games and home runs without making the postseason.

Key Matchups: With a pivotal series about to begin in San Diego, the Giants need their bats to come alive. San Francisco has posted a 2-9 record against the San Diego Padres this season, largely courtesy of a .219 batting average in those games. Thursday’s starter, Matt Cain, has certainly suffered. The Giants offense has managed a total of five runs in his three starts against San Diego. So who might step up Thursday? Jose Guillen, who has four hits in his last eight at-bats, might be the man to give San Francisco a spark. He is 9-for-19 in his career against Jon Garland, though it’s been two years since they met.

• After snapping their three-game losing streak on Wednesday, the Atlanta Braves host the Cardinals in a matchup of faltering contenders. Adam Wainwright has had a great deal of success against the team that drafted him 10 years ago. He is a perfect 5-0 in five starts against Atlanta, having never allowed more than three earned runs. Derrek Lee, hitting .400 in his last five games, has only four hits in his last 26 at-bats against Wainwright.

Trivia Answer: Ned Yost, who took over as Kansas City Royals manager in May, has managed 1,063 games in the majors, but never brought his team to the postseason. Of course, part of the reason for that was his 2008 season in Milwaukee. Yost was fired with 12 games to go and his team tied for the Wild Card lead. Dale Sveum took over and the Milwaukee Brewers went just 7-5 but made the postseason.

Today’s Trivia:
Brett Favre seems to be on the brain and on the lips of the sports world, so let’s keep his name there for baseball. Over the last 50 years, there have been five players (including one who’s a Hall-of-Famer) named Brett to be an All-Star. Who are they? Note: Brett can be either their first or last name, and it can be spelled with either one “T” or two.

Quick Hits:
The Minnesota Twins' Jim Thome hit his 12th career walk-off home run Tuesday. That ties five players (Foxx, Mantle, Musial, Robinson, Ruth) for most in MLB history. It also gives us a great chance to look at some fun walk-off home run notes:

• Dusty Baker hit plenty as a player and has seen his seen his fair share as a manager. Baker hit eight walk-off home runs in his career, twice as many as current managers Terry Francona and Joe Torre.

• Aaron Boone hit more walk-off home runs (6) than Willie Mays (5).

• Three players share the all-time mark for most walk-off HR in a come-from-behind situation: Babe Ruth, Frank Robinson and Fred McGriff.

• You’d be forgiven if you’ve never heard of Gates Brown. He hit .257 with 84 career home runs from 1963-75 with the Detroit Tigers. But it's funny how the baseball gods look down on some players. Brown hit three pinch-hit walk-off home runs, the most of any player in MLB history.

• Harold Baines has the distinction of hitting the latest walk-off home run in history. His came in the 25th inning of a game against the Brewers in 1984.

• Anyone up for a 13-pitch walk-off shot? Garret Anderson did it in 1997, taking Rick Aguilera deep to beat the Twins.

• Finally, let’s circle back to Thome. His first career walk-off home run came on June 15, 1994, in a game where he did three things you haven’t likely seen from him much in recent years: played third base, batted 8th in the order and finished a triple shy of the cycle.

Wednesday Matchups:
If the Boston Red Sox's Dustin Pedroia struggles tonight against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s Scott Kazmir, you’ll know something is wrong. Pedroia has hammered Kazmir in his career to the tune of a .526 BA and 1.433 OPS. Pedroia has 16 hits and six extra-base hits off Kazmir, the most against any pitcher.

The Twins Francisco Liriano has a career 5.22 ERA against the Chicago White Sox, almost a point and-a-half higher than his ERA against all other teams. Look to two main culprits for his lack of success against the Sox, but maybe not the ones you’d think: Alexei Ramirez and A.J. Pierzynski. Of the 72 batters who Liriano has faced at least 10 times in his career, Liriano is allowing a batting average above .400 to seven of them, and Ramirez (.500 BA) and Pierzynski (.417 BA) are two of them.

When the San Francisco Giants' Matt Cain tries to suppress the Phillies lineup tonight (7 ET on ESPN), there’s one recently activated player he might want to avoid.

Trivia Answer: The Hall-of-Famer is George Brett. The other players are Bret Boone, Ken Brett, Brett Butler and Bret Saberhagen.

Today’s Trivia: We’ve got a tremendous lefty showdown tonight in Tampa – Cliff Lee against David Price. Both will likely find their names on some Cy Young ballots at the end of the season. When was the last time that two left-handed pitchers finished 1st and 2nd in Cy voting in a season? When was the last time it happened in the AL?

Quick Hits: Pitchers love getting ground ball outs and pitching coaches love preaching to play to your defense. Let’s take a look at which hitters and pitchers have ratios at either end of the spectrum:

Derek Jeter has been beating the ball into the turf more than any other AL hitter. He has a 3.30 groundout-to-flyout ratio, which blows away second place on the list (Juan Pierre, at 2.28).

Meanwhile, the man who frequently bats behind Jeter in the order is a polar opposite. Nick Swisher’s 0.66 ratio is second-lowest on the list, narrowly behind Jhonny Peralta’s 0.65

Chalk up the Cleveland Indians as a team that pitches to the ground ball. Justin Masterson is the leader in groundout-to-flyout ratio among pitchers, and two other Indians (or former Indians) ranked in the top eight in that category – Fausto Carmona and the departed Jake Westbrook.

In the NL, a pair of Central division batters – Michael Bourn and Skip Schumaker – are the groundout-to-flyout frequenters. Maybe the biggest surprise comes at third on the list – Jason Heyward, with a 1.92 ratio.

Roger McDowell and Dave Duncan seem to be kindred spirits, with their pitching staffs following in tow. Of the top four groundout-to-flyout pitchers in the NL, two are Braves (Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe) and the other two are Cardinals (Jaime Garcia, Adam Wainwright).

On the other end of things, the San Francisco Giants have three starters in the top five of pitchers who get flyouts most frequently. Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Barry Zito are all among the league leaders in that category.

Today’s Leaderboard: How would you like to be Jon Rauch on Sunday – entering the game trying to continue the dominance after Kevin Slowey pitches seven no-hit innings? It didn’t end well for Rauch, who allowed a double to the second batter he faced, ending the no-hitter and eventually the shutout.

Lucky for Rauch, it was a relatively low-leverage situation, at least numbers-wise: his team was up 4-0 with only nine outs needed to polish off the A’s. But which guys have entered games in high-leverage situations the most this season? Interesting to see two Boston Red Sox pitchers on this list:

High leverage is defined here as the first PA of a pitcher’s appearance having a leverage index of 1.5 or higher. A leverage index of 1.0 is considered average, with the greater index indicating the higher pressure. By the way, Rauch has 21 high leverage appearances this season.

Key Matchups: Max Scherzer has only faced four active New York Yankees batters in his career, but he’s made them look silly. Lance Berkman, Curtis Granderson, Austin Kearns and Mark Teixeira are a combined 3-16 (.188 BA) against Scherzer. Those batters have eight strikeouts in 18 AB.

You could see why Kevin Correia might not be thrilled about taking the mound at Wrigley Field tonight – Correia has a 17.47 ERA in five games there, including one start. That’s his worst ERA of any ballpark where he’s made a start. In his last outing, a start with the Giants, Correia didn’t make it out of the fourth inning and allowed seven earned runs.

More on the potentially epic lefty matchup tonight in Tampa. Let’s breakdown their Opp BA numbers, tale-of-the-tape style:

Moral of the story? It’s better to go lefty-lefty against Lee rather than Price. And while Lee excels in keeping runners off base in the first place, Price thrives once they do get on.

Trivia Answer: Randy Johnson and Tom Glavine finished 1-2 in 2000. The NL hasn’t seen a lefty Cy winner since the Big Unit won his last in 2002. To find two leftys that finished 1-2 in the AL, you have to go all the way back to 1979, when Mike Flanagan won and Tommy John took second.