"Even by Matt Cain's standards, this was a tough one to swallow.

Cain, who has crammed a career's worth of hard-luck losses into his six seasons in San Francisco, went the distance Saturday at the Oakland Coliseum but received little help as the Giants fell to the A's 1-0.

The loss dropped Cain to 2-4 on the season despite a 2.88 ERA. He allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base five times but induced two double plays and struck out four to limit the damage to one unearned run.

"He pitched his heart out," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He had to pitch out of (jams), and he did it. That's why this is another tough one, and we've had some gut-wrenching losses."

The past two have been particularly painful for a Giants club that has dropped four straight and is 1-5 on a seven-game trip.

After leaving seven runners on base in a 6-1 loss Friday night, the Giants stranded five Saturday. San Francisco is 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position in the series and is last in the National League with a .234 average in those situations.

"They're pressing, there's no getting around it," Bochy said. "We're in a tough rut. We're getting shut down, and we know it." "