Matt Cain | |||
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Cain in 2011
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San Francisco Giants – No. 18 | |||
Starting pitcher | |||
Born: Dothan, Alabama |
October 1, 1984 |||
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MLB debut | |||
August 29, 2005, for the San Francisco Giants | |||
MLB statistics (through 2016 season) |
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Win–loss record | 101–107 | ||
Earned run average | 3.57 | ||
Strikeouts | 1,619 | ||
Teams | |||
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Career highlights and awards | |||
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Matthew Thomas Cain (born October 1, 1984), nicknamed The Horse,Big Daddy, and Big Sugar, is an American professional baseball starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He stands 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighs 230 pounds (100 kg). He bats and throws right-handed. Cain throws five pitches: a four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball, a slider, a curveball, and a changeup.
Cain was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the first round of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft out of high school. He advanced quickly through the minor leagues and made his debut with the Giants in 2005, becoming the youngest player in the National League (NL) that year. In 2006 (his first full season), Cain won 13 games and finished tied for fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Cain had the 10th-best earned run average (ERA) in the NL in 2007, but he finished second in the league with 16 losses due to poor run support.
In 2009, Cain was named an All-Star for the first time in his career; he won 14 games and had a winning record for the first time since 2006. Cain only won 13 games in 2010, but he saved his best pitching for the playoffs, as he did not allow an earned run any of the three playoff games he pitched in as the Giants won their first World Series since 1954. In 2011, Cain won 12 games and had a 2.88 ERA. Cain threw the 22nd perfect game in Major League Baseball history on June 13, 2012. He had a 16–5 record during the regular season, and he finished sixth in NL Cy Young Award voting. He won every series-clinching playoff game for the Giants as they won the 2012 World Series.