When it comes to the second half of the season lately San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito has all but disintegrated on the mound. Zito got rocked for seven runs early in his latest start this evening, leading the San Diego Padres to an eventual 11-3 rout at Petco Park Saturday nght.
Zito (L 3-2) lasted only 3 and 2/3 innings this evening, allowing seven runs on eight hits with four walks and three strikeouts. Two of those hits included home runs from Cameron Maybin and Jesus Guzman, marking the first time in their last 53 games the Padres had multiple homers in one game. Zito's command was off from the start, struggling to throw strikes even during his warmups between innings (believe me I saw it with my own eyes at Petco tonight), and his four walks in such a short outing can pay tribute to his struggles as well. For whatever reason Zito has struggled in the second half, hopefully he can pick up the pieces in his next start.
The Giants offense managed to plate a few runs tonight, including a solo shot from former Padre Miguel Tejada in the sixth, and an RBI double from Mike Fontenot in the ninth. Tejada was the only player for San Francisco to have multiple hits, finishing the night 2-4, while Pablo Sandoval went 1-3 with a run scored after his triple in the fourth.
With the loss the Giants move to 54-41 on the year. Full box score can be found here.
The Giants will go for the series win Sunday afternoon as Matt Cain (8-5 3.06 ERA) takes the mound to face the Padres' Mat Latos (5-10 4.04 ERA). First pitch is set for 1:05 pm PT with coverage on CSN Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM.