Skip to main content

Zito's Best Start as Giant Gives Them First Win

Well, after that first series in Arizona in which the bats showed up, for both teams, and the Giants came up a run short in each of the three games. It had fans starting to wonder what the heck was going on? The Giants were scoring 6-7 runs a game but they weren't winning, which was supposed to be automatic with this staff.

Unfortunately, the Giants pitching staff made a few more mistakes than Arizona's did in that opening series, and they ended up sweeping the series and taking a strong-hold early on the NL West. However, the Giants looked like a completely different team on Monday in Colorado, behind perhaps the most enigmatic arm they've had over the last decade in Barry Zito. The 33 year-old shut down the potent Rockies lineup for his first complete game shutout in 8 seasons, long before he became a Giant! Needless to say, this was his most crisp outing as a Giant and they absolutely needed it as they came out of the game 0-3 despite actually putting some runs on the board and giving the pitchers some support. The problem with the first two games in AZ is that the team got down early and couldn't quite comeback. Game 3 was one you'll rarely see, as Matt Cain was given a 5-0 lead and the Giants ended up blowing the game. That's not like them and that particular game gave me some cause for some concern. However, Zito's start Monday pretty much wiped that weekend set out of the mind and has me wondering what may be in store for San Francisco if Zito has finally figured out National League hitting. Another terrific performance that should not get overlooked from Monday's game was his catcher, Hector Sanchez who has become Zito's personal catcher and he not only impressed defensively but hat a multi-hit game and an RBI, showing exactly why I was hoping this kid would make the squad over the "WhiteStew" combo.

I wanted to talk a bit more about the offense though, which has obviously been the bright spot early on in the regular season, and was being hyped as being much improved this spring. Through the first 4 games, they haven't disappointed as newcomers Angel Pagan (2B, RBI, R) and Melky Cabrera (2 hits, 2 Runs) where each a big part of Monday's win and the Giants also got some production out of "all glove, no bat" Brandon Crawford, who connected for his 2nd double of the season, a 3-run knock that blew the game wide open and gave the Giants the ultimate 7-0 lead and victory. And wouldn't you know it, after 4 games, the young shortstop, despite having just 2 hits in 4 games, is 2nd on the team with 5 RBI. His 5 RBI trail only one Giants batter, and that Giants batter is looking like he's in MVP form right now and I aint just saying that cause this is a Giants blog. Pablo Sandoval has been just about as tough of out as there is in baseball early as he connected for his 2nd long-ball of the year, and drove in his 6th run of the season while also collecting a couple of runs scored himself. Keep in mind, again, the Giants did this without their best hitter in Posey (day off to rest), and are still without offensive catalyst Freddy Sanchez, who's working on his rehab down in San Jose and hopefully will be back before the end of the month.

It's just good to get some good vibes after such tough, 1-run losses to you divisional nemesis in AZ like the Giants did, and get back on the winning track. And I have to say, if this is just a preview of things to come for Zito (9 IP, 0 R's, 4 hits, 4K's), then the Giants may finally be getting some return on their $126 million investment.Better late then never, I guess. Now I really can't wait to see what he does next weekend vs. Pittsburgh. Hard to believe just days earlier at the end of spring, Giants fans were calling for his head. Now, I can't wait to tune into KNBR and hear the singing of a different tune. I've always liked Zito, ever since he and his publicist gave me 3 free VIP passes to his "Strikeouts for Troups" concert back during his first year in SF, happy to see him finally not only win, but dominate a good lineup like he did Monday! What if he does in 2012 what Vogey did in 2011? Wouldn't that be something!

Comments

J-Bill saidā€¦
That was good to hear, was at work so had old KNBR and Miller and Flemm going, but it sounded good. They made Zito sound like he was in prime form, was that the case or was Col. just having a bad day at the plate? Zito's had stretches of 2-3 starts even where G fans go "here he's back", but then he stinks again for a month and goes on the DL or something.

I hope he's back, but I have to see it for a few weeks, not just one start. Good too see the Giants offense looking better though. Good decision to keep Sanchez for Zito, obviously.

Ohh yeah, and when is Brett pill gonna start?
Anonymous saidā€¦
Go Giants. Zito. Zito. Zito! I was at the game (live in Denver), and I'm a lifetime Giants fan. That was so cool to see Zito dominate like that. Rockies fans where all thinking blowout with their "ace" on the mound vs. Zito, but that Giants team I saw looks good.

Like you said, if a few breaks went differently in AZ, the Giants could be sitting at 4-0 instead of 1-3.
hitnrun saidā€¦
Trevor, I was one of the people calling for Zito's head, and it was a total surprise to see the least likely starter become the stopper, but let's see if Zito can duplicate this effort, before we call him Vogey of this season. We have already seen him have a handful of decent starts followed by a month or two of thrashings by the opposition over his career, so I prefer to reserve high praise until he shows consistency. I still think that the fourth and fifth slots in the rotation are critical in the race with the D'backs, who have already shown that they can throw 3 or 4 good starters at the Giants.
Vernon saidā€¦
Maybe Zito will be the Alex Smith of the Giants. Who knows?
I honestly feel like we are living in Bizarro world here...First Lincecum get's shelled (and shelled again), and Zito throws a complete game shutout. Good for Zito, but I rather see Tim thrive!
Anonymous saidā€¦
Greetings!
I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering
if you knew where I could find a captcha plugin for my comment form?
I'm using the same blog platform as yours and I'm having difficulty finding one?

Thanks a lot!

my blog post :: iphone mileage
Anonymous saidā€¦
Hello,
I know this is kinda off topic but I'd figured I'd ask. Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest writing a
blog post or vice-versa? My blog covers a lot of the same subjects as yours
and I feel we could greatly benefit from each other. If you might be interested feel free to send
me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! Superb blog by
the way!

Feel free to visit my web site - Shooting Games
Anonymous saidā€¦
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an very long
comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn't appear. Bleak! Anyways, just wanted to say great blog!
My wife and I frequently write guest posts for other site owners to help gain publicity to our work, as well as provide superb articles to site owners. It truly is a win win situation! If you happen to be interested feel free to contact me so we can discuss this further. Cheers!

my blog post :: Desktop Gadgets
Anonymous saidā€¦
Informative write-up.
You always prepare the most practical ideas & Blogger: The Giants Baseball Blog-
A San Francisco Giants Blog and Fan Website is simply no different.
..

Review my web page: Best iPhone App
Anonymous saidā€¦
Great read! I've added your rss feeds to my Google reader.

My website; Toenail Fungus
My webpage - nail infection treatment
Anonymous saidā€¦
Hello.
I've been reading your site for a long time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out! Just wanted to tell you keep up the excellent work!

Here is my website; Ultimate Chipping
Anonymous saidā€¦
ļ»æFantastic blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers?
I'm hoping to start my own blog soon but I'm a little
lost on everything. Would you advise starting with a free platform like Wordpress or go for
a paid option? There are so many choices out there
that I'm totally confused .. Any ideas? Bless you!

Also visit my homepage; vehicle app

Popular posts from this blog

WORLD SERIES: Giants Move Up 2-0 on Texas

PreGame After taking game one in a surprising slug-fest , the Giants look to go up 2-0 on the Rangers in the World Series on Thursday night. The Giants are sending out Matt Cain, a guy who I'm sure every Giants' fan is pretty confident in. He'll be a opposed by C.J. Wilson, who's in his first year as a full-time starter, but has been brilliant in the role. He did struggle his last time out though, so hopefully the Giants can get to him early and get into his head a bit. I'm going to do something I've never done here on this unique occasion, and sort of do an in-game post. updating this post every time I feel I have something to add. So go Giants, and be sure to check back throughout the game, and after, to vent or whatever! As long as Matt Cain keeps rolling, and the Giants keep coming up with those clutch 2-out hits, we should be OK. Texas has that high-powered offense that can score in a hurry, as we saw last night, so the Giants cannot let down and have to t...

Giants Still Need Infield Help

On Saturday, the Giants finalized a 2 year contract extension with Freddy Sanchez, who they acquired in July for Tim Alderson. The new deal for Sanchez will pay him 12 million over the next 2 seasons instead of 8.5 million for just 2010, which was his option for 2010. I've voiced my disappointment in Sanchez a few times here since the Giants dealt for him over the summer. He wasn't able to stay on the field full time to help this club with their run at the NL Wild Card, and even when he was in there, he didn't seem to make much of an impact in th e lineup. Now, I wasn't necessarily hoping the Giants would cut ties with Sanchez (they probably would have had to pay 4 million or so to buy him out), just didn't think he was worth upwards of 10 million dollars, and would have liked to see the Giants pursue someone like Orlando Hudson with that money. The Giants already have an infielder who's being paid about 3-4 times what his play over the last 2 seasons would indi...

Giants Notes: Lincecum Signs, Ross to Boston

Well, even though I touched on it a little bit in our last post, I haven't really had a chance to get my thoughts out on the new Lincecum deal since he and the Giants agreed earlier in the week. Also, on the other end of things, the Giants missed out on shoring up their outfield by letting Cody Ross sign in Boston for only $3 million in 2012. First off, obviously, wanted to talk a bit about Lincecum. I've already said here that I didn't expect him to sign a long-term deal that takes him through free agency, but it doesn't mean he wants to leave San Francisco like everyone is suspecting. I mean, if I were Lincecum, I'd probably do the same thing, even if I planned on eventually signing with the Giants long-term. Why take a chance at mitigating your value to just sign a deal? Granted, a 5 year, $100 million deal isn't anything to sneeze at, in this market, if he were a free agent, Lincecum could probably easily command a 8 year, $200 million deal. If he could get ...