San Francisco Giants Baseball: Why Matt Cain Is One of the MLB's Best Pitchers

While you may not know it by looking at his record, Matt Cain is a great pitcher. 

He has always kept his cool despite lack of run support, and he has consistently pitched well. This year, his brilliant pitching has continued to benefit the Giants, and maybe even more than ever.

Cain is 7-2 with a 2.41 ERA this year, and he came just shy of a no-hitter in his second start of the season. He has won his last six starts, and in that span, he has struck out 42 hitters.

Oh, and in his last 22 innings, Cain has allowed just two earned runs. In case you don't know, that is very good.

Even though Tim Lincecum, the Giants' so-called ace, has struggled, the Giants have started the season well. They currently reside at 34-27, and there is one player to thank for that.

Lincecum is 2-7 with a horrific ERA of six, and when he pitches, the Giants have a record of 2-11. Their record when Cain pitches? 9-3. Cain hasn't allowed more than five runs this year, and he has two shutouts.

Cain has continued to force ground balls, but he's also getting strikeouts. He is hitting his spots and consistently hitting the corners. He has a good fastball, which has gotten him ahead in counts, and a decent slider, curveball and changeup.

His changeup dips down at the last second, and it is very intriguing for hitters. His slider slices to the outside corner and just out of the reach of an unlucky hitter's bat. And, if a hitter is lucky enough to make contact, the result is usually a ground ball.

Because Cain has been hitting his spots so well, it has been so hard to make good contact off of him. While he has always been an elite pitcher, he is now getting recognized for his work.

With offensive support, Cain is pitching better. He is confident that his offense will deliver, so he goes out and pitches fearlessly. He uses his fastball very effectively to get ahead of counts, and he finishes off hitters with changeups, sliders and curveballs.

While the MLB is a pitcher's league, and there are a lot of great pitchers these days, Cain stands out among them. He has the ninth-best ERA in the major leagues, although he is more consistent and talented than most of the pitchers ahead of him.

Overall, Cain is a great pitcher and has paid dividends for the Giants. His consistency and his ability to get win after win for the team has definitely helped the team, as has his team-leading seven wins and 82 strikeouts.

You may not love Matt Cain, but there's no denying he's a great pitcher. He doesn't lose his cool, he gets big outs and when he gets the necessary run support, he wins games for the Giants.

And that's why he's one of the MLB's best pitchers.