Your 2012 Giants: Epic Again

Wow, they just keep the epicness coming.  Madison Bumgarner throws a one-hitter shutout to beat the offensive-oriented Reds team that had been averaging 5.0 runs per game in June, not a offensively inept team missing their best hitter in the Dodgers and Matt Kemp.

• For the first time in Giants franchise history, 130 years, the Giants have shutout the opposition for four straight games.  He faced only two over the minimum.  And we have Perfecto Cain taking the mound tomorrow against the Reds.  This is the 17th time since 1918, last happening in 1995 by the Orioles.
• Plus this is the most straight innings of shutout innings, 36 innings, beating the San Francisco franchise record of 35 innings set in 1960 (heard this on radio).  
• I think this will be epic because it should be the first of many:  this was Madison Bumgarner's first complete game in his career, and thus also his first one-hitter.  He had 8 strikeouts.  Most likely the first of many, and maybe a no-hitter in his future too, he had it going into the 6th inning.
• This is the first month in baseball history (at least Giants history, but I think it was MLB history, I'll try to confirm later, heard it on the radio) where a team got a no-hitter and a one-hitter in the same month (not sure if just June or any month).  And it might be a record, I just realized that the Giants have, this season, one perfect game, one game with only one batter over the minimum (Cain's one-hitter) and one game with only two batters over the minimum (Bumgarner's one-hitter).  Got to at least be something not done in a long time, maybe history.
• And Bumgarner is 5-0 for the month, first time since Lincecum in September 2010, not epic, but still pretty good.
• Also, the Giants now have 6 shutouts this month, two of them complete games, that has to be something that hasn't happen for a while too.

On top of that, the Dodgers lost and thus the Giants are now alone in first place by one game.  Unfortunately, the D-backs won and stays 5 games back.  Can't ever let down against them, but their upward surge has stalled the past few games, thank goodness.  

Go Giants! Go Cain!  Couldn't have a better pitcher up to continue such a streak.  This reminds me a little of September 2010 when the Giants pitching staff totally dominated for 18 games (3 or less ER) plus also 23 games (4 or less ER) and each pitcher felt the competitive pressure and camaraderie to continue the streak.  The funny thing is that the pitching staff just came off 5 games of giving up a lot of runs (4 or more), before shutting down the teams for four straight games.