Matt Cain faced 27 Houston Astros. He retired all 27. And in doing that recorded the first perfect game in San Francisco Giants’ history Wednesday night.
Cain (8-2) struck out a career-high 14 en route to perfection and the Giants’ 10-0 rout of Houston. The right-hander induced a pair of fly balls to left field and got Jason Castro to ground out to third base for the final out of the ninth, sending a jovial Giants crowd – which hadn’t been seated since the sixth – into a frenzy.
He shared his celebration with the those fans basking in their piece of history, spending at least five minutes after the last out acknowledging a deafening applause.
The Giants’ defense, which has had its share of errors this season, was as flawless behind its man on the hill.
Melky Cabrera tracked down Chris Snyder’s deep fly ball at the wall in left field in the top of the sixth inning. In the seventh, Houston’s Jordan Schafer scorched a Cain offering to right-center field. But Gregor Blanco’s highlight-reel diving catch preserved the no-no in the eighth, and seemed to right destiny’s ship on course the rest of the way.
Wednesday’s gem marked the 22nd perfect game in Major League Baseball history.
San Francisco’s offense came to play, too. Two-run home runs by Cabrera and Brandon Belt, plus a solo shot by Blanco, padded a 15-hit night for the Giants.
