Johnson vs. Giants Hitting
With the recent slump exhibited by Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Johnson has taken the mantle of most dominating pitcher of 2010. A 10-3 record with a 1.61 ERA will do that; a stretch of starts in which 12 of 13 outings you allowed one run or less (the 13th start was an enormous two runs) will do that as well. Since allowing four runs on opening day, he's never allowed more than three in a game. He's thrown 18-straight quality starts. Simply put, Johnson has been incredible.
It really doesn't matter who bats for San Francisco in this game, I'm betting it'll be massively difficult for anyone to produce any kind of offense against Johnson. Aubrey Huff, who leads the Giants in batting average, home runs and RBI's, has limited success against Johnson (4-for-9), and will be relied on for sparking any offense. Rookie Buster Posey (.358, 8 HR, 32 RBI in 47 games) will also be leaned on to produce. Good luck with that.
Cain vs. Marlins Hitting
A string of two strong starts for Matt Cain has erased a poor-stretch of games where Cain lost four straight decisions and allowed more than seven runs in two separate games. His most recent start was much more Matt Cain-like; he threw eight scoreless innings and struck out nine in a win over Arizona. Overall this season has been a strong one for Cain, pitching as one of three aces in a strong San Francisco rotation. Odds are he'll continue to recover nicely from his slump earlier in the year.
Cain has faced Florida already this year with successful results. The righty pitched seven innings, allowing two runs and striking out six. The Marlins offense this season has been carried by Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla, one of whom has past success against Cain while the other does not. Ramirez is hitting .400 (6-for-15) against Cain with a home run; Uggla is hitting just .167 with four strikeouts in 12 at-bats.
Bullpen Comparison
Florida has a nice trio of workhorse reliever that highlights the Marlins bullpen. Clay Hensley has pitched the most innings of any Fish reliever and has a nice 2.95 ERA to go along with it. Brian Sanchez is a solid set-up man himself, with a 2.60 ERA. But the anchor of the group is closer Leo Nunez. Nunez has 23 saves this year and is averaging over a strikeout per inning. Two of the regulars in the 'pen, Burke Badenhop and Tim Wood, have ERA's reaching 6.00 and bring the overall quality of the bullpen way down.
The Giants bullpen is also headed by their top-flight closer. Brian Wilson is tied for the MLB-lead in saves with 29, and has a very impressive 1.83 ERA to go along with it. Wilson is also the workhorse of the 'pen, throwing 43 1/3 innings this year, tops among San Fran relievers. Sergio Romo (2.08 ERA) and Denny Bautista (2.64 ERA) compliment Wilson in a very effective bullpen.
Outlook
Johnson has entered the territory where you'd be downright crazy not to be betting on him to win. His current streak of domination is unlike any other in recent baseball history, and that includes what Jimenez did earlier in the season. Cain is no slouch himself, but he and his offense cannot stack up against what Johnson has been doing this year. He is a just a real special talent.
Pick: Florida Marlins
