Cain basks in the glow of perfect game
Matt Cain tossed and turned and managed all of about four hours of sleep following his history-making gem for the Giants.
Perfectly understandable.
Cain’s perfect game will be remembered among the most masterful pitching performances in regular-season baseball history, if not ever.
San Francisco’s ace right-hander dominated the Houston Astros every which way Wednesday night in a 10-0 win for the 22nd perfect game ever and the fifth no-hitter already this year.
He struck out a career-best 14 batters, making up more than half of his 27 straight outs and tying Sandy Koufax for most Ks in a perfecto. Cain (8-2) threw 19 first-pitch strikes and never faced a 2-0 count in winning his career-high seventh straight start.
“I’m still pumped,” said Cain, who was back on the field playing catch with fellow starter Madison Bumgarner by 10:15 a.m. Thursday after a workout. “I haven’t really had a ton of time to sit down and look over stuff, see how it all happened. I don’t know that it has hit me yet, maybe when I can sit down and watch the highlights, go over the game.”
He threw 125 pitches – the most in a perfect game – and 86 of those for strikes. Seven of his strikeouts were called. He didn’t shake off catcher Buster Posey once.
Clearing the bases
Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Charlie Morton is out for the season after undergoing elbow surgery. Dr. James Andrews repaired the ulnar collateral ligament in Morton’s right arm. The procedure took place Thursday in Pensacola, Fla. … New York Mets manager Terry Collins expects to hear by today about the long-shot appeal that could give R.A. Dickey a belated no-hitter. Dickey allowed only an infield single Wednesday night in a 9-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, and the team is asking the commissioner’s office to overturn the official scorer’s decision on B.J. Upton’s hit. The speedy Upton hit a high bouncer in the first inning that third baseman David Wright was unable to field with his bare hand. The play was ruled a hit, but the Mets wonder if it should have been called an error on Wright. … Joe Torre is returning to the dugout next year – to manage the United States at the World Baseball Classic. Torre, who turns 72 next month, guided the New York Yankees to four World Series championships and managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2008-10. He is Major League Baseball’s Executive Vice President for Baseball Operations.