(Sports Network) - Matt Cain will try to give the San Francisco Giants a commanding lead in the best-of-five National League Division Series this evening, when his team plays Game 2 against the Atlanta Braves at AT&T Park.
2010 MLB Playoffs: Braves Look To Strike Back Against Matt Cain, Giants
The Giants captured Game 1 on Thursday, as Tim Lincecum tossed a two-hit shutout and struck out 14 in San Francisco's 1-0 win.
“I don’t know (if I’ve ever pitched better), that’s hard to judge what ‘better’ would be,” Lincecum said. “If you come out on top, I think that’s good. Shutout, as far as shutouts go, I think that’s up there with one of my better ones, if I had to rate it.”
Lincecum (1-0), the two-time defending NL Cy Young Award winner, tied a major league record for the most strikeouts in the first postseason start of a career as the Giants won their first playoff game since their last postseason appearance in 2003.
"This was his game and he finished it," Atlanta left fielder Matt Diaz said of Lincecum. "The number of strikeouts was impressive. But he was giving us pitches to hit virtually every at-bat. That's the thing with him and his delivery and his ability to mix pitches. He may give you a pitch to hit, but you're probably not going to hit it because you might not be looking for it or it's just funky."
Cody Ross drove in the game's lone run after a missed umpire call in the fourth inning, and San Francisco's Buster Posey was the only player in the game to garner two hits and score a run. Posey also stole the first base of his career.
Omar Infante and Brian McCann both doubled for the Braves' two hits, but Atlanta's diminished offense was unable to push across a run. The Braves, who squandered a seven-game lead in the NL East before settling for the Wild Card on the final day of the season.
Derek Lowe (0-1) pitched well for Atlanta, but suffered the loss after yielding a lone run on four hits and four walks while striking out six in 5 1/3 frames.
The Giants scored the first and only run of the game after a questionable call in the fourth. Posey singled to left leading off and attempted to steal second as Pat Burrell struck out. Replays showed that Posey was clearly tagged out before reaching the base, but umpire Paul Emmel called him safe. Later in the inning, following a two-out intentional walk to Pablo Sandoval, Ross singled through the infield's left side to plate Posey.
“I guess it’s a good thing we don’t have instant replay right now,” Posey said.
“I haven’t seen (the play). Some of the guys came down after that inning and said he was out by six, eight inches,” Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said. “From the dugout, you can’t see anything and I didn’t see a reaction from our infielders.”
Now the Giants turn to Cain, who was 13-11 with a 3.14 ERA this season. Cain, though, struggled in his last start of the year last Friday against San Diego, which battered him for six runs in just four innings.
“That was definitely a test,” Cain said. “And I think that I’ll use that to my advantage for [Friday] night and carry some of my mental preparation and how I felt during the game. The good stuff and the bad stuff, I’ll carry that in [Friday].”
He has made five starts in his career against the Braves and is 2-2 with a 4.03 ERA in those contests.
Atlanta, meanwhile, will counter with young right-hander Tommy Hanson, who was hit in the eye during batting practice on Thursday but came out for introductions and is apparently fine.
“I’m good to go,” he said as he left the visitors’ clubhouse.
After going 11-4 as a rookie in 2009, Hanson was just 10-11 this season but pitched to a 3.33 ERA. Hanson gave up just one run over his last three starts and pitched five scoreless innings in his last regular-season start Saturday against Philadelphia.
Despite his prowess down the stretch, Hanson did not get a win in any of his final three starts. He is also the first pitcher for the Braves since they moved to Atlanta to have an ERA under 3.50 in at least 30 starts and still post a losing record.
"His record definitely is not indicative of the way he's pitched this year," Cox said. "We've gotten him no runs all year long -- nothing. He was hyped just like [outfielder] Jason Heyward was in our organization. When he was out in the Fall League, all the scouts -- not just our scouts, but every scout in baseball that covered him -- thought he would be a No. 1 starter. And he's real close to being that right now, for me."
Atlanta won four of seven matchups with San Francisco this season. The Giants took two of three at home from the Braves in April.
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