Giants' Cain to make last career start vs. Padres (Sep 30, 2017)
SAN FRANCISCO -- Matt Cain will take the mound for the final time in his decorated career Saturday afternoon when the San Francisco Giants host the San Diego Padres.
The 32-year-old right-hander announced earlier this week that he will retire at season's end.
Cain (3-11, 5.66 ERA) will be opposed on his big day by a team that's beaten him more than any other, the Padres. The 13-year veteran has gone just 8-14 with a 3.20 ERA against San Diego in 38 meetings, including 37 starts.
The Padres will counter with right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (13-10, 3.98), who has gone head-to-head with Cain three times in his career, including once this season when San Diego hammered the San Francisco bullpen for 11 runs in a 12-4 win.
A career-long Giant, Cain will be making his 331st career start Saturday. Only right-hander Juan Marichal (446) has made more in the San Francisco era of franchise history.
Cain has struggled the last five seasons (19-40) after having been a three-time All-Star and top-of-the-rotation starter in World Series championships in 2010 and 2012.
He also was a member of the 2014 champs.
Cain will take a 104-118 record into his finale, a mark that does not fully represent the quality of his starts.
Only Seattle Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez (132) has received two or fewer runs of offensive support more often than Cain (120) since the Alabama native debuted in the majors in 2005. Eighty-one of Cain's 118 losses came in those games.
While 35 pitchers have won more games since 2005, only 19 of them have recorded an ERA better than Cain's 3.69.
"He's been here since Day 1 with me, and I wanted him to make this start at home," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of scheduling the going-away party on the final weekend of the season. "I'm sure it's going to be emotional for him. This is going to be a special game for him and for us."
What would help make the game special for Cain would be the type of offensive support the Giants gave rookie right-hander Chris Stratton in Friday's 8-0 win over the Padres.
The Giants belted out 17 hits, eight of which went for extra bases.
Cain will be facing a Padres team that has been outscored 44-9 during a five-game losing streak.
San Diego fell behind 3-0 in the first inning and was down 7-0 by the end of the fourth in Friday's loss, making things easy for Giants rookie starter Chris Stratton.
"It's a frustrating game," insisted Padres manager Andy Green, whose team has won all five previous series against the Giants this season. "It's kind of been a theme of the last (five) games: You get down early, and you get down big relatively early."
Chacin has had a hand in the Padres' recent dominance of the Giants in San Francisco, where San Diego has gone 8-3 since the 2016 All-Star break. He's posted a 4-1 record and 2.09 ERA in seven career starts at AT&T Park.
Overall, San Diego's leader in wins this season has gone 8-7 with a 3.31 ERA in 20 meetings, including 19 starts, against the Giants.
