Offense is a DIY thing for Cain

There is perhaps no pitching staff in baseball that has suffered from worse run support over the past couple of years than the Giants', and there is no pitcher on the Giants' staff who has suffered from poor run support than Matt Cain, particularly against the Padres' team he faces tonight:

In 15 outings against San Diego, Cain has a 2.92 ERA. That's more than solid. Cain has limited the Padres to a .197 batting average. That's more than excellent. His lifetime record against the Pads? 3-5.

But wait, it gets worse. In his last 10 starts against San Diego, Cain's ERA is 3.59. His record? 0-5. Cain last beat the Padres on Sept. 8, 2006, when he limited them to one hit in seven innings in a 4-0 Giants victory along the shores of McCovey Cove.

And runs are going to be particularly tough to come by today as the Giants face Jake Peavy. Looks like it would be as good a time as any for Cain to demonstrate one of his unique talents:

When Matt Cain steps into the batter's box this evening, he has a chance to move into a tie for second place on the S.F. career list for pitchers hitting home runs. Cain has gone deep four times. Jason Schmidt and Bobby Bolin hit five homers for San Francisco. Don Robinson owns the record with seven.

Well, maybe it's more luck than talent -- he's essentially a .100 hitter -- but when the Giants' batters have your back, you'll take all the luck you can get.