Over the past few days, Giants fans have had the opportunity to watch two fantastic pitching performances: Friday?s gem by Matt Cain against Arizona and Ubaldo Jimenez?s performance on Monday. Beyond the proximity in time, the games share in the dominance that each pitcher had over the opposing lineup. The opportunity to have access to manager Bruce Bochy?s press conference as well as the San Francisco locker room after the game provided many interesting pieces of information about both that game and the process for a pitcher in a major performance like that. One of the major perks that each of the managers enjoyed with the complete games was the fact that the bullpens did not need to get any use. In fact, Bochy did not even warm up another pitcher, which he described as a ?nice luxury,? a comment that takes on particular significance when the team has bullpen struggles like the Giants have had at various points this season. In terms of the performances themselves, each game provided a different example of how a pitcher can have a great game. On Friday, Matt Cain only allowed two baserunners- Mark Reynolds on a double that just kept on carrying and went past Nate Schierholz and Reynolds again when he got hit by a pitch. The nuance that HBP?s do not count as BB?s is what propelled Cain?s start to be classified as the single best one of the season on ESPN?s flawed yet interesting performance rater (since passed by Roy Halladay?s perfect game). On the other hand, Ubaldo allowed four hits yet struck out nine and made a bunch of hitters look absolutely silly. That said, Cain?s start had fewer near misses as the only ball hit particularly hard out of the infield was the one hit allowed. Jimenez got the benefit of a fantastic catch by centerfielder Carlos Gonzalez on a rocket by Bengie Molina in the eighth inning. Of course, Jimenez has possessed that benefit this season with the second-best BABIP of all starters thus far (with three Giants starters in the top 10). On top of that, both Ubaldo and Cain got run support early on though neither would end up needing it. While Jimenez got his early support on a two-run single by Clint Barmes in the second, much of Cain?s support came from Pablo Sandoval. Bochy talked about how ?everyone goes through? slumps like the one Sandoval has been mired in and that ?he?s going to get his hits,? but the relief was even more present when talking to Sandoval after the game. Incidentally, Cain mentioned that in Friday?s batting practice, Sandodval told him ?We?re back,? in reference to Sandoval hitting home runs in nine different Cain starts in 2009. When asked about ?calling his shot? (in Cain?s words) after the game, Sandoval chuckled and said he was ?joking around? before the game, yet it was also clear that he felt a duty to give Cain some run support. While it was good to see this momentum continue beyond Friday, the fact that Sandoval had three of the Giants? four hits versus Jimenez showed both how well Ubaldo pitched and how rough the rest of the team had it. Interestingly enough for the Giants, the degree of difficulty when it comes to opponents comes out clearly in Cain?s favor. Over the season thus far, Arizona has outscored San Francisco by 43 runs despite the Giants? sweep this past weekend- nearly one more run per game played. Bochy talked about how Arizona ?puts runs on the board? which was also shown all too clearly by the 21 runs they scored in Phoenix in just two games against San Francisco earlier in May. While both teams had nearly their entire optimal starting lineup in for their respective games, the higher level of quality of Arizona?s bats shows the impressiveness of Cain?s start. All in all, saying that one start was more than marginally better than the other is a fool?s errand. What made Cain?s a little more impressive was just how few balls the Diamondbacks hit well compared to the four hits and couple of other well-struck balls on Monday. That said, both were amazing experiences live that should stand out when all is said and done even in a season that has already seen two perfect games and another no-hitter. A couple of other notes from the locker room on Friday: ? Cain did not notice that he had a one-hitter going until he heard someone yell about it when he was in the on-deck circle some time ?in the middle of the game.? When I asked Pablo the same question after the game, he said that he did not know it was a one-hitter either but he could tell that Cain ?felt great? on the mound. A little surprising, but I guess that?s how things go. ? When asked how often he shook off Bengie Molina over the course of the game, Cain said ?maybe once or twice? and gave Molina credit for the game he called. While I continue to be someone who thinks the ability of a catcher to ?manage a staff? is overrated, that?s pretty impressive. ? Freddy Sanchez?s defense in the game cannot be ignored. Cain noted that he felt Sanchez?s effort ?rubs off on everybody? and it does seem like the infielders in particular have made some strong plays over the last two weeks.