Matt Cain’s perfect game, the first in the team’s history. Melky Cabrera’s 51-hit month of May. Sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in San Francisco with a shutout each game. There have been many highlights to the first half, but the All-Star break was a welcomed sight of reprieve for the San Francisco Giants.
[caption id="attachment_318" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Melky Cabrera's 51-hit month was the bright spot for the Giants in the first half. Photo courtesy of talk-sports.net"]
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Prior to the All-Star break, the Giants had lost five of their last six, including a sweep by the National League-best Washington Nationals. In the final two games before the break, the Giants were outscored by the Pittsburgh Pirates by a total of 16-3. It was this mini-slide that dropped the Giants back out of first place for the National League west lead, and now sit a half game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
One of the main questions remains ace Tim Lincecum, as he continues to struggle. His ERA sits at a lofty 6.42, with a 1.58 walks/hits per innings pitched. In his final start of the first half against the Pirates, Lincecum lasted only 3 1/3 innings while giving up 6 earned runs on 7 hits and only gaining only 3 strikeouts.
Giants fans and players are hoping that his struggles can be put in the past, as Lincecum is still a vital piece of this team. The break gives him an extra four days to rest and try to find his mojo. In 2011, Lincecum lowered his era from 3.06 before the All-Star break to 2.31 after the break, so if this year is comparable to last season at all, it is possible to find that second-half spark that can propel the Giants to another NL West title.
Angel Pagan is also cooling off after his hot month, as he has an average of only .181 in the last 30 days, and has 11 RBIs to his stat line. It was that average that led him to being moved down in the order from fifth to sixth, behind All-Star Pablo Sandoval. The break should give him a chance to rest and regain his May form when he hit .375 with a .422 on-base-percentage.
There were also positives before the break started as well, as Pablo Sandoval is hitting .311 with 14 RBIs over the past 30 days. Cabrera’s MVP-caliber season thus far continues, as he brought into the break the MLB’s second best batting average at .353, and a .391 on base percentage.
[caption id="attachment_319" align="alignright" width="211" caption="Matt Cain threw the first perfect game in the history of the San Francisco Giants, and threw two scoreless innings in the All-Star game. Photo courtesy of sfexaminer.com"]
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Matt Cain continued his first half domination by pitching the first two scoreless innings for the National League in the All-Star game. His era sits at 2.36 with 118 strikeouts. He, along with the surging Vogelsong (with the fourth best era in the MLB), and the strong year for Madison Bumgarner have kept the Giants in playoff contention.
It’s also the timely play and outstanding hitting that have the Giants a half game behind the Dodgers for the lead in the NL West. A key series shutout-sweep against the division-rival Dodgers in the late part of June that actually had the Giants on top of the division, something they couldn’t maintain until the break. They outscored the Dodgers by a total of 13-0 in that series while the Dodgers were in the midst of their offensive struggles without Matt Kemp.
The Giants also sent three position players to the all star game in Sandoval, Cabrera, and Posey, and all three were voted in as starters. The Giants all star representatives showed that they have no signs of slowing down in the second half of the season, as Sandoval and Cabrera provided 5 of 8 RBIs for the NL, and Posey also scored a run. Cabrera continued to shine in the All-Star game, going 2-3 with a 2-run home run on his way to being named MVP. That’s a big positive for an offense-deprived club over the past few years. If Lincecum can regain some sort of 2010 magic, the Giants will be a force in the NL in the second half.
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