Giants’ Cain outduels Lester, gets big hit and ends 2 droughts
Denard Span was on deck and as stunned as anybody when Cain ended the National League’s longest hitless drought at 46 at-bats and ignited a 5-3 victory against the Cubs by blasting a two-run double to left center, which led to an even bigger prize: his first win in nearly 10 months.
In baseball’s inimitable way of laughing at convention, Cain finally got his 98th career victory by holding the majors’ scariest team to a Kris Bryant solo homer in six innings and delivering a huge hit against a pitcher with a 1.88 ERA, on a day when lifelong infielder Kelby Tomlinson played left field and batted third.
Cain, reminded that pitcher wins are considered meaningless these days, said, “When you haven’t had one in a year, it’s pretty nice to get one.”
In the bigger picture, Cain has held the Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and Cubs — three good offenses — to four runs in 21 innings over his past three games.
Manager Bruce Bochy went there after the Giants won for the ninth time in 10 games.
In a three-run third inning that Lester did not finish, Posey hit his first homer since May 1 and first this season with a runner on, extending a 2-1 lead to 4-1 against one of the league’s best pitchers.
Posey had gone 62 at-bats since his last home run but said he did not sweat it.
Cain had to sweat through three difficult innings from the bullpen.
The Cubs scored once in the eighth against Josh Osich and got a leadoff homer from Dexter Fowler in the ninth against Santiago Casilla, who then retired the next three for the save.
A bigger deal would be a series victory against the Cubs, which the Giants can secure Sunday night on ESPN with Madison Bumgarner on the mound.