San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain can't seem to shake the injury bug, as he is once again on the shelf after suffering a hamstring injury.
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More Hamstring Trouble for Cain
Tuesday, June 14
John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle noted a right hamstring strain will send the pitcher to the disabled list.
After missing much of the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Cain has struggled to stay healthy thus far in 2016.
The 31-year-old righty suffered a hamstring injury in May when he finally seemed to be coming around, and now his durability concerns have arisen for the second time this season.
Cain is a former three-time All-Star, but injuries and inconsistency have prevented him from returning to that level in recent years. Since posting an ERA of 3.14 or better every season from 2009 through 2012, he hasn't had an ERA below 4.00.
So far this season, Cain has put up a 5.34 ERA in 57.1 innings pitched.
Entering the 2016 campaign, Cain hadn't started more than 15 games in a season since 2013. He made at least 30 starts every year from 2006 though 2013, but his workhorse status has dissipated and may never come back.
Cain's decline has certainly hurt San Francisco's pitching depth over the past few seasons, but it is currently better equipped to deal with it than ever before.
Even if Cain is forced to miss some time, the Giants are stocked with high-quality arms, including Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Jake Peavy.
A healthy and productive Cain is a luxury the Giants would undoubtedly love to have, but they have proven capable of winning games and excelling without him.
One thing his injury does is put pressure on the other starters to remain healthy, but there isn't much they can do other than take the mound every fifth day and give the Giants a chance to win.
Cain did precisely that for much of his career, but that hasn't often been the case over the past few seasons.
Although a healthy Cain would be a major coup for the Giants, they figure to remain one of the teams to beat in the National League regardless.
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