Bumgarner & Samardzija Produce Off the Bench, Giants Get Cain Win No.100

In securing the 100th win of Matt Cain's career, manager Bruce Bochy utilized not one, not two, but three of his starting pitchers in the most unorthodox manner imaginable, which can be categorized as nothing less than another dose of "Even Year Shenanigans."

Following five innings of no-hit ball, Bochy removed Cain from the ballgame and subbed in none other than fellow starter and staff ace, Madison Bumgarner, to hit in his place.

Being called to pinch-hit wasn't foreign to Bumgarner, as the call to swing the lumber off the bench was the fifth time Bochy has made the decision.

With two hits in four at-bats and a walk, in five plate appearances prior, the move wasn't completely out of left field.

Bumgarner has always had a knack for rising to the occasion at the plate, starting and off the bench, and he did so once again, roping the third pitch he saw over the head of Bryce Harper and off the padding of the right-field wall to leg out a two-bagger to put himself in scoring position.

The zaniness could have ended there, but Bochy made yet another mad scientist-esque move, bringing in Jeff Samardzija to pinch-run for Bumgarner, the second consecutive day in which The Shark pinch-ran for a Giant, who would score with the help of error from Anthony Rendon.

Samardzija may have distracted Rendon for just a split-second while the third baseman was making the play, especially considering the pitcher, listed at 6'5" and 225 pounds, has the stature of a shooting guard more than a starting pitcher.

San Francisco was the beneficiary of multiple instances of shoddy Nationals defense, as two innings prior, Conor Gillaspie scored on a routine Ángel Pagán groundball due to an error by Washington second baseman Trea Turner, which gave San Francisco their first run of the game.

Pagán was once again a part of San Francisco's scoring, when in the bottom of the seventh, he muscled a broken-bat soft line drive into right field, plating Denard Span and giving San Francisco their third and final run of the ballgame.

Lost in the Bumgarner/Samardzija episode was Cain's five innings of work, which paved the way for him to hit the century mark in career wins.

It wasn't a clean outing by any means, but The Horse, who has spent a decade of full season with the orange and black, proved he still has some juice left in the tank.

The veteran walked four batters and had to throw 94 pitches to get through five innings, but with the way he and the ballclub have been struggling, he'll gladly take a start like today's any day of the week.

In every inning, except the third, Cain had to work out of the stretch, allowing at least one National to reach base by way of a free pass.

He worked himself into a first and second situation, walking Chris Heisey and Danny Espinosa after registering two quick outs in the top of the second, but evaded any trouble by striking out his opposition, Gio Gonzalez.

Today's outing was Cain's fifth quality start of the season, and the first in which he allowed no runs.

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