Giants Defeat Rockies Thanks To Offensive Outburst, Strong Start From Cain

Matt Cain isn't used to struggling. However, the star pitcher was struggling. He had just lost two consecutive starts, and he had pitched poorly in both of those games. Before that, he had struggled in starts against the Dodgers and Phillies.

So Cain put an end to those struggles. And, the Giants' offense backed him up.

Cain pitched well into the eighth inning, the Giants' offense erupted for nine runs and San Francisco obliterated the Rockies 9-3. With the win, the Giants pass the Dodgers, who will play in Miami later today, for first place in the NL West.

Buster Posey continued his dominance with a two-run home run. Rockies' southpaw Drew Pomeranz was supposed to throw the pitch down and away, but he left the ball up in the strike zone. Posey capitalized and homered to put the Giants up 4-0. Posey finished the game with two hits to raise his batting average to .330.

Joaquin Arias continued his dominance against left-handed pitchers, hitting a triple, scoring two runs, getting two hits and knocking in a run with a sacrifice fly. Arias has been hitting well lately, and a lot of his hits have gone deep into the outfield. Arias now has a .262 batting average for the season.

New acquisition Hunter Pence hit an outside pitch the other way (into right field) to plate Marco Scutaro and give the Giants a 5-0 lead. However, Pence continues to struggle with the Giants, as he went just 1-for-5.

In addition to the offensive outburst, Cain pitched very well. He threw strikes and hit his spots very well in the first five innings, although he fell apart in the sixth. The Rockies loaded the bases with no outs, but Cain allowed just one run while getting out of the jam.

Cain's strong start is a sign that he has recovered from his struggles. Despite throwing some bad pitches, Cain forced a lot of fly balls and got out of jams. Thanks to his pitching, Giants fans never had to worry about losing the game.

San Francisco is now 62-52, while the Rockies fell to 41-70. Colorado righty Alex White (2-6, 5.75 ERA) will pitch for the Rockies on Sunday, while Giants' lefty Barry Zito (9-8, 4.19 ERA) will take the hill for the Giants.

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