Blue Jays 4 - 0 Giants
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May 10, 2016 - 6:41 AM J.A. Happ is off to the best start of his career. Matt Cain is experiencing his worst.

The Toronto left-hander and the San Francisco right-hander square off Tuesday night with the Blue Jays seeking a series win and the Giants just hoping to score some runs.

Happ (4-0, 2.50 ERA) gave up a run and six hits in seven innings of Thursday's 12-2 home victory over Texas to win for the fourth time in his last five starts. Dating to his last three starts of last season while with Pittsburgh, Happ is 6-0 with a 2.21 ERA in nine starts.

He joined Marcus Stroman to mark just the second time in team history that two starters began the season with 4-0 records.

"He thinks differently," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Happ's new approach. "He's able to go deeper in games because he's not trying to overpower anybody. He used to get a lot of foul balls, now he's getting a lot of ground balls, which you'd hardly ever see."

Happ, however, is 0-4 with a 6.75 ERA in four career starts against the Giants, three of which have come at AT&T Park. Matt Duffy (2 for 3) and Hunter Pence (4 for 8) have both homered against him, but Gregor Blanco is 0 for 7.

Cain (0-4, 7.84), meanwhile, is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA in his last five starts. He gave up eight runs - six earned - and 10 hits in four-plus innings of Thursday's 17-7 home loss to Colorado.

"It's not easy," Cain told MLB's official website. "It's frustrating and it's on your mind. I'm able to focus when I'm on the field and not when I'm away, which is a good thing."

He's following Jake Peavy in the rotation, and Cain's fellow struggling veteran turned in a slightly more reasonable start in Monday's 3-1 loss to open the series with three runs allowed in five innings, but he walked five. The duo is the main reason for a 5.70 ERA out of the starting staff on a 6-6 span.

"We're standing behind these guys," manager Bruce Bochy said. "These are guys who are capable of getting back on track. They have been around. They have the experience."

Cain hasn't faced the Blue Jays (17-17) since 2010, but he's far more familiar with Troy Tulowitzki, who's 21 for 64 (.328) with five home runs, five doubles and a triple in their matchups.

San Francisco (17-17) needs to get its offense going for just about any starting pitching to be enough. The Giants have scored three runs in the last three games while batting .165. Buster Posey was out of the starting lineup but is 0 for 14 in his last four games and 5 for 31 for the season with runners in scoring position. Joe Panik is 0 for 12 in his last three, and Blanco is 1 for 17 in his past four.

The Blue Jays haven't exactly been their typical offensive juggernaut selves. Over a 2-2 span, they've scored 12 runs while batting .203. Josh Donaldson is 3 for 21 in his last six, Jose Bautista is 6 for 46 in 13 games since his last multihit effort, Russell Martin is 0 for 11 in his past three and Tulowitzki is 5 for 44 in his last 12. But Edwin Encarnacion homered for the third time in six games after doing so three times in his first 28.






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