SAN FRANCISCO — A classic duel between multimillion dollar pitchers Matt Cain and Cliff Lee ended in a draw Wednesday night, but the Giants ultimately claimed a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in 11 innings on Melky Cabrera’s one-out RBI single at AT&T Park.
Brandon Belt, who had entered the game a half-inning earlier on a double-switch, ignited the Giants’ game-winning rally with a one-out single against the Phillies’ second pitcher, left-hander Antonio Bastardo.
Belt advanced to second when Angel Pagan followed with a grounder that was bobbled for an error by third baseman by Ty Wigginton, and Cabrera followed by lining a 1-0 pitch into the right-center gap to score Belt easily.
The story of the night, however, was the matched brilliance of Cain and Lee. Cain limited Philadelphia to just two hits and no runs during the first nine innings. Lee held the Giants scoreless on seven hits with no walks over the first 10 innings.
Both pitchers worked quickly. The first nine innings were played in 1 hour, 50 minutes, and both starters were well under 100 pitches.
The Giants looked as though they might score a quick run off Lee when Pagan opened the bottom of the first with a single to left and Cabrera moved him to third with a single to right. But Lee retired Pablo Sandoval on a short fly ball to right field, and Buster Posey hit into a double play.
Cain, meanwhile, retired the first six hitters he faced, and after retiring the first batter of the third inning, he had set down 34 of 35 hitters his last two starts. Freddy Galvis broke up that run with a single to center, and Galvis was sacrificed to second by Lee, but Cain retired Juan Pierre on a pop-up to short to end that threat.
The Phillies mounted another threat in the fifth. Wigginton led off with a single, and after Laynce Nix struck out, Carlos Ruiz walked. But Cain ended the inning quickly when Galvis hit a grounder to short, which the Giants turned into a double play.
From that point, Cain was perfect over the next four innings to give him a string of 14 consecutive outs through nine innings to end his night’s work. He was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the ninth, having thrown just 91 pitches. He walked one and struck out four.
Lee also got stronger as the game wore on. Brett Pill led off the fifth inning with double over the head of center fielder Shane Victorino, but the left-hander retired Ryan Theriot, Nate Schierholtz and Brandon Crawford on consecutive grounders to short with Pill not even able to advance to third. Lee then retired nine more in a row.
The Giants finally broke the string in the bottom of the ninth when pinch-hitter Hector Sanchez reached on an error. But with Gregor Blanco pinch-running, Pagan hit a double-play ball to short, and after Cabrera singled, Lee retired Sandoval on a fly to center, sending the game into extras innings.
The Phillies nearly broke through in the top of the 11th. Ruiz led off the inning by hitting a ball past Sandoval down the third-base line for a double. Galvis sacrificed Ruiz to third, but when the Phillies sent up pinch-hitter Jim Thome, the Giants countered with lefty specialist Javier Lopez, who struck out the slugger. When John Mayberry Jr. subsequently pinch-hit for Pierre, right-hander Chad Hensley (0-1) came on and got the final out on a grounder to short.
n The Giants might have acquired an important buffer with the loss of closer Brian Wilson in offseason signee Hensley. Hensley has drawn raves so far in the early going — entering Wednesday’s game, he had allowed just one hit and no runs in four appearances with six strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.
Tuesday night, he entered the game for starter Madison Bumgarner with a man on and nobody out in the seventh inning and got three quick outs, including a strikeout of Victorino with a well-spotted inside change-up.
Pagan, who’s seen plenty of Hensley when he was with Mets and Hensley was with Florida the past two seasons, attests that Hensley is a tough guy to figure out in the late innings.
“He can make any pitch at any count, and that’s always a challenge for a hitter, especially when you’re 3-2 and you’re expecting a fastball,” Pagan said. “He’ll throw you his great change-up or curveball instead.”
Hensley said his experience as a starter has helped him expand his repertoire as a reliever.
“I have four pitches from my days as a starter,” he said. “Just because I was in the bullpen I didn’t want to not throw them. I think it’s one of the things that’s a big equalizer for me, not having to go out there and throw 95 (mph). I can throw three other pitches.”
Bochy, who managed Hensley in San Diego in 2005 and 2006 when he was starter, said efforts like Tuesday’s ease the pain of losing Wilson.
“Huge inning,” the manager said. “The leadoff hitter gets on, and he has to go through the order and gets three straight outs. It certainly helps to have another experienced guy who’s accustomed to throwing in the late innings with the game on the line and not be afraid. It makes life a little easier when you lose your closer.”
— Bochy has taken notice that Sandoval seems to be a calmer, more selective hitter this year, even though entering Wednesday night he had just four walks in 48 plate appearances.
“I like his at-bats,” the manager said. “He’s seeing more pitches, he’s showing better discipline. Consequently, I think it’s helped him. He seems quieter up there, he’s not as anxious. That goes with experience.”
