Giants introduce Shohei Ohtani to Cainings

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 22: Patrick Bailey #14 of the San Francisco Giants lets go of his bat after he hit a three-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the seventh inning at Oracle Park on April 22, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images On Tuesday, we talked about Cainings . The San Francisco Giants introduced Los Angeles Dodgers ace and international superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the concept, with the most common type of Caining in existence.

Call it the Standard Caining. In the Standard Caining, a pitcher has a very good game, but their offense doesn’t do enough. Because they had merely a very good game, rather than a great one, they’re rudely handed a loss when their incompetent offense fails to do their job.

Matt Cain, to pick a random name to use as an example, received a losing decision on 26 different occasions in which he pitched at least six innings while allowing two or fewer earned runs. Yamamoto’s impersonation was quite admirable, as the reigning World Series MVP pitched seven mostly-dominant innings but, thanks to a three-run first and a lifeless offense, received a notch in the L column. Today, we talk about a less common variant of the Caining, one that the Giants introduced to Dodgers ace and international superstar Shohei Ohtani.

Let’s call it an Advanced Caining. In the Advanced Caining, a pitcher goes above and beyond with not just a good game, but a great one. But the offense is, once again, inept.