After spending the first seven years in the big leagues with the Oakland A's, Barry Zito must certainly have some fond memories of his time in the Green and Gold. But all Cy Young awards aside, Zito has a job to do this afternoon for his present club, the San Francisco Giants, looking for his second straight victory in the first game of the Bay Bridge Series.
Zito (2-1 2.53) has been much more reliable that he has been the previous few seasons with San Francisco, lasting six innings in all his starts but one. He owns a 1-4 record with a 7.24 ERA against the A's in his career, but hasn't pitched against them since May of 2010.
The A's Jarrod Parker (1-1 2.10) will be making his first career interleague start, though took the loss against Detroit in his last time out after giving up two runs in 5.2 innings of work. He is looking forward to get some swings in though, having claimed to have hit .481 with nine homers as a senior in high school. Skipper Bob Melvin has been preparing his guys to take some hacks:
"They have to be ready for it, for sure, because you never know the situation," A's manager Bob Melvin said of his pitchers preparing to hit. "The pitchers hitting, you're worried about injury, and it's a progression to try to get them there, prepared for it."
Oakland could also see the likes of Coco Crisp return this weekend, who is set to come off the DL on Friday. The team is yet to decide whether he'll need a minor league assignment before rejoining the club.
First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m. PT with coverage on CSN Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM.
For more on the Giants check out SB Nation Bay Area and McCovey Chronicles.
