Now in the shadows of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants lefthander Barry Zito has quietly put together a stellar second half with a 2.58 ERA since the break.
With Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain dominating the headlines for the San Francisco Giants, Barry Zito has finally been removed from the spotlight on the Giants’ pitching staff; and he has quietly put together a very respectable season.
Zito deserves credit; many players with a contract as bloated as his that had fallen so far from grace would have just gone through the motions and collected their paycheck. But not Zito; he’s been working hard for years trying to correct his game, and this year was a big step in the right direction.
In 13 starts since the All-Star break, Zito has been putting up All-Sstar numbers: 76.2 IP, 65 Ks, 2.58 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and a .237 BAA. In fact, since the break, Zito hasn’t given up more than three earned runs in any of his 13 starts. He’s given up two earned runs or less in 10 of the 13 games.
Zito’s biggest problem when he’s off is that he’ll only last about four innings; but with one of the best bullpens in baseball, that isn’t the end of the world. And when he’s on, as has been the case more often than not, he will go 6+ strong innings of two run or less ball.
Tom Gorzelanny has started in five games this season, and has looked a lot more like his 2006-2007 self (sub-4 ERA) than he has of late. A quick glance at Gorzelanny’s numbers won’t impress you, but of his five starts, only one was a bad one and it skews the stats drastically; a 1.1 IP effort at Colorado in which he gave up six runs.
If you are willing to throw that one out, his other four starts provide a simply dazzling line; 22.1 IP, 2.42 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 27 Ks. That’s over a K per inning, and four games with two runs or less given up.
Tonight’s game doesn’t have the marquee names, no Chris Carpenter's or Clayton Kershaw's in this one. But a serious glance at the numbers shows that Zito and Gorzelanny have pitched about as well as anyone of late, and they should be able to keep this total low tonight.
The Pick: Cubs-Giants Under 8 (-105)