TORONTO — When he came to the
plate in the eighth inning of a scoreless game Saturday, Toronto's Aaron
Hill only had one thought on his mind.
"I just didn't want to hit another
popup," Hill said.
He didn't. Instead, Hill's two-run
home run off San Francisco's Matt Cain was the big blow in the Blue
Jays' 3-0 victory over the Giants.
Cain (6-5), who hadn't lost since May
22 and hadn't allowed more than one earned run since May 17, gave up
three runs and seven hits in 7 2-3 innings.
"He was dominant all game," Hill said.
"We barely got a couple of hits off him. Guys were getting jammed all
day."
The praise was cold comfort for Cain,
who was left kicking himself for issuing a four-pitch walk to former
teammate Fred Lewis immediately before Hill's blast.
"That's why a two-out walk will hurt
you so much, because these guys can beat you with the long ball," said
Cain, who has allowed just five homers. "You can't give these guys extra
chances. I did, and it cost us."
The homer was the 10th of the year for
Hill, and Toronto's major league-leading 105th.
"They've done that all year, hit the
long ball," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "That's what's beat us the
last two games."
Cain, who walked two and struck out
three, became the second Giants starter in two games to lose on a late
homer. Barry Zito was beaten in Friday's 3-2 loss on an eighth-inning
solo shot by Toronto third baseman Edwin Encarnacion.
Shawn Camp (2-1) pitched one inning
of relief for the win and Kevin Gregg closed it out in the ninth for his
18th save in 21 chances. It's the first time this season that Gregg has
saved consecutive games.
Adam Lind followed Hill's homer with a
single, bringing Santiago Casilla out of the bullpen. Vernon Wells
singled and Lind was replaced by pinch runner Dewayne Wise before Alex
Gonzalez made it 3-0 with a broken-bat single that sent the jagged end
of the bat flying into Toronto's third base dugout.
Just two batters reached scoring
position through the first seven innings. San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval
was stranded after a one-out double in the second and Toronto's Lyle
Overbay could not advance after a two-out double in the fifth.
Making his second start of the season
after undergoing elbow ligament replacement surgery, Toronto
right-hander Jesse Litsch allowed three hits in seven shutout innings.
He walked none and struck out three.
"Jesse just did a great job," Hill
said. "We wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for what he did."
For Litsch, it was a vast improvement
from his first start, June 13 at Colorado, when he allowed seven runs
and nine hits in 2 1-3 innings of a 10-3 loss.
"Last time I got cutter-happy and
they were sitting on it," Litsch said. "Today we worked on sinking the
ball more, working on the whole repertoire instead of just a couple of
pitches. From there, we rolled with it."
Edgar Renteria hit a one-out double
off Camp in the eighth and, after Bengie Molina flied out, Andres Torres
was intentionally walked, but Camp escaped when Freddy Sanchez grounded
into a fielder's choice.
"We're just now swinging the bats
right now, that's what it comes down to," Bochy said.
NOTES: The Giants are 0-5 on the road
in interleague games. … San Francisco is 4-23 when scoring fewer than
four runs. … Renteria made his first appearance since May 25 after
sitting out 20 games with a strained right hamstring. … San Francisco
OF Pat Burrell was replaced by Nate Schierholtz on defense in the
seventh. … INF John McDonald rejoined the Blue Jays after being away
on bereavement leave. … Toronto DH-OF Adam Lind has been taking ground
balls at 1B and could back up Overbay, manager Cito Gaston said. Jose
Bautista also has experience at first.