Cain Struggles, Giants Lose To Angels In Shutout
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- Bobby Abreu and the Los Angeles Angels made Matt Cain pay for throwing too many balls.
Abreu hit his third homer this spring, a three-run shot that highlighted a five-run first inning that sent the Angels over the San Francisco Giants 8-0 Wednesday with boxing great Muhammad Ali in attendance.
Many of the Angels had their pictures taken with Ali prior to the game in the locker room. Ali then watched part of the game from a suite behind home plate.
Cain pitched three innings. He had gone five scoreless Cactus League innings over two previous games.
"I was behind on a lot of counts," Cain said. "I wasn't able to command the left side of the plate. I was a little bit out of rhythm. My arm strength was fine. I felt fine. Today doesn't look great, but I felt fine."
Angels starter Ervin Santana pitched five shutout innings, striking out six.
"Those were great hitters," said Santana, 17-10 with a 3.92 ERA in 2010. "They made me think a little bit."
Abreu's homer followed singles from Erick Aybar and Howie Kendrick to start the game. Mark Trumbo continued his fine spring later in the inning with an RBI double and scored on Jeff Mathis' single.
Mathis had two hits, raising his spring batting average to .371.
The Angels added two more runs in the fourth. Peter Bourjos opened with a bunt single and scored on Aybar's double. Torii Hunter had a sacrifice fly.
Aybar finished with three hits.
NOTES: Giants OF Cody Ross came out of the game in the first inning after catching a sinking line drive off the bat of Alberto Callaspo. Ross left with a strained left calf. ... Angels OF Vernon Wells left in the third with tightness in his left hamstring, but said he would have continued had it been a regular-season game. "There was no sense in pushing it," Wells said. "I've learned over the years to play through it. I've turned it into an art form. These things pop up." ... Angels closer Fernando Rodney enjoyed his best outing of the spring, striking out the side in one inning of relief of Santana.
(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services may have contributed to this report.)
