Cain and Marquis - Duel at AT&T

On July 1, Matt Cain and Jason Marquis had a surprising pitcher's dual in San Francisco. The Giants won 2-1, the Cubs only scoring off of closer Brian Wilson, or was it Mike Love, in the 9th. One of the runs of off Marquis was a double-steal of home.

First, here's the top and side view of Cain. Notice how tight the release points are. And how tight the paths of the fastball and change-up are. Until, well, until it's kinda too late.



Same thing for Jason Marquis - release points not quite as tight, and the flight paths don't overlap much. Marquis only threw three change-ups (splitters), and just threw fastballs (probably a mix of two- and four-seam, but not any cutters) and sliders.



A look at Marquis' plate locations explains the effectiveness - sliders for strikes.



Jason Marquis Pitch Outcomes

cfx	L	R	mph	pfx_x	pfx_z	deg	rpm	B:CS	corner%	Sw%	Whiff%	SwOZ%	TaIZ%	HR%	NKS	G:AO
FA	39	29	91.1	-5.4	4.9	228	973	1.5	10.29	45.59	16.13	33.33	30.56	0.0	0.267	0.5
FS	2	1	86.7	-4.1	5.8	216	886	2.0	0.00	0.00		0.00	100.00	0.0
SL	13	11	85.0	3.9	3.0	130	648	3.5	16.67	62.50	13.33	53.85	20.00	0.0	0.200	0.4
	54	41	89.4	-3.0	4.4	203	888	1.7	11.58	48.42	15.22	37.04	28.85	0.0	0.250	0.5

Guys had to swing at it, and the swing rate reflects that, and it even got chased when it was out of the zone. And Jason threw the slider on every count (to righties).

Jason Marquis Pitch Selection - LHH

		#	FA	FS	SL
L	first	16	87.5	6.3	6.3
L	ahead	13	53.8	7.7	38.5
L	behind	15	86.7	0.0	13.3
L	even	5	0.0	0.0	100.0
L	full	5	100.0	0.0	0.0

Jason Marquis Pitch Selection - RHH

		#	FA	FS	SL
R	first	12	75.0	0.0	25.0
R	ahead	14	78.6	0.0	21.4
R	behind	3	66.7	0.0	33.3
R	even	9	55.6	11.1	33.3
R	full	3	66.7	0.0	33.3

Something jumps out - just three counts all night where Jason Marquis was behind to a right-handed hitter. He labored more against the lefties, but no problems going same-side.

Matt Cain was also outstanding, but got the job done with an overhand delivery and a power repertoire. His plate locations show him keeping the ball around the zone (up-and-down) more than Marquis.



Matt Cain Pitch Outcomes

cfx	L	R	mph	pfx_x	pfx_z	deg	rpm	B:CS	corner%	Sw%	Whiff%	SwOZ%	TaIZ%	HR%	NKS	G:AO
CH	24	0	86.4	-4.0	4.6	223	782	1.0	8.33	41.67	30.00	20.00	37.50	0.0	0.000	6.0
CU	6	3	76.1	8.9	-6.4	235	1,192	1.3	0.00	22.22	0.00	16.67	66.67	0.0	0.000	2.0
FA	39	29	92.4	-0.9	9.7	185	1,299	1.9	11.76	39.71	18.52	17.07	20.00	0.0	0.300	0.8
SL	4	8	84.8	5.5	1.4	121	723	1.3	0.00	41.67	40.00	33.33	50.00	0.0	0.000	0.7
	73	40	89.0	-0.1	6.5	190	1,119	1.6	8.85	38.94	22.73	19.05	30.00	0.0	0.188	1.2

The curve was just a pitch to watch go by, apparently. The 24 change-ups, all to lefties, were very effective. So were the slider and fastball. Cain almost never fell behind to righties, like Marquis. When he did, it was all fastballs.

Matt Cain Pitch Selection - LHH

		#	FA	CH	CU	SL
L	first	16	68.8	25.0	6.3	0.0
L	ahead	22	63.6	22.7	9.1	4.5
L	behind	16	43.8	50.0	6.3	0.0
L	even	14	28.6	42.9	14.3	14.3
L	full	5	60.0	20.0	0.0	20.0

Matt Cain Pitch Selection - RHH

		#	FA	CH	CU	SL
R	first	13	69.2	0.0	7.7	23.1
R	ahead	16	68.8	0.0	12.5	18.8
R	behind	7	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
R	even	4	50.0	0.0	0.0	50.0

Tough game for the Cubs to lose, but nothing to hang their heads about. Another 915 CT start tonight. Dempster gets the ball.