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| Barry Zito continues to pitch poorly. |
Naturally, the Giants' offense is not potent enough to overcome such deficits on a routine basis; so if this keeps happening, they will keep losing. The offense failed to put up any big numbers on Saturday, scoring just three runs. Huff and Burrell, who each had an RBI, combined to go 0 for 7, and the other run came off of a solo home run by Pablo Sandoval. The Giants managed to rack up just four hits.
There's really not much else to say: when a team is built around its rotation, it depends on their starters to be consistently good. That's not happening, and the Giants are losing because of it. In all honesty, the starters can't take all of the blame: as I've said many times, the defense that Bochy puts behind these starters is atrocious - Burrell, Guillen, Sandoval at third, and occasionally Rowand in center. Of course, the full impact this has on the starters' performance is not entirely measurable, but it has clearly been a factor.
Notes:
- Sandoval has 6 home runs in his last 15 at bats. Is it safe to say he's back? Of course not. But let's say it anyway...
- Freddy Sanchez, who went 1 for 4, is now 12 for his last 19.
- Zito has been terrible over his last 8 starts (9 outings), with an 0-6 record and an ERA of 5.53; We're seeing vintage Barry Zito.
Tomorrow: Matt Cain will get the start. If there's any game the Giants will win for the rest of the year, it's this game. Matt Cain was the stopper of the Giants' last losing streak, and appears to be stepping up as their ace. He has pitched beautifully against Arizona this year: 17 scoreless innings, with just 4 hits allowed. The Giants will face Rodrigo Lopez, who has a 5.09 ERA on the year. They have great numbers against him in their careers:
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| Image from ESPN.com |
