Andrew Baggarly - MercuryNews
Barry Zito achieved another moral victory Monday night. The actual one continues to elude him.
Zito threw five shutout innings against the Houston Astros before losing a three-run lead in the sixth. But he didn't collapse under his own weight this time. He was simply beaten by the hottest hitter in the major leagues.
Lance Berkman hit a tying, two-run home run in the sixth inning to deprive Zito his first victory. Instead, the left-hander took a no-decision as the Giants lost 7-3 at AT&T Park.
"I don't know if I'm building toward a win," Zito said. "That's out of my control. But I'm building toward being more aggressive and having better command."
Zito hung a 3-and-1 change-up that Berkman swatted to the deepest part of left field, and the Astros pushed ahead against the Giants' bullpen. Hunter Pence's sacrifice fly off Vinnie Chulk scored Jose Cruz Jr. in the seventh inning, and Keiichi Yabu's pickoff throw to an invisible first baseman resulted in two more runs in the eighth.
Zito remained 0-7 but avoided becoming the first pitcher in 20 years to lose his first eight starts. That distinction continues to belong to Mike Boddicker, who toiled for a Baltimore Orioles team that epically dropped its first 21 games of the season.
It might be easier to hide an 0-8 pitcher amid a systemwide collapse. But it has been tougher for Zito, a $126 million hood ornament on a Giants team looking for a new direction without Barry Bonds.
At least there's no shame in getting beaten by Berkman, who could trade his batting gloves for oven mitts.
The Astros' slugging first baseman has a .605 average over an 11-game hitting streak, including five homers and seven doubles. He finished a triple short of the cycle.
At one point in his streak, Berkman had 18 hits in 23 at-bats.
Perhaps it's better if nobody tells Zito that Berkman almost didn't play because of a mildly strained groin. But for a time, it appeared even Berkman wouldn't prevent Zito from breaking through.
Zito walked off the mound to cheers after each of his first five scoreless innings. He threw more sinking, two-seam fastballs and located the pitch well with runners on base. In the fourth inning, he even got Berkman to swing through an up-and-in fastball as catcher Bengie Molina threw out Miguel Tejada on a busted hit-and-run. Zito painted the next pitch on the inside corner to strike out Berkman.
"It had some good movement," Zito said. "Definitely, it's coming."
Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said the start probably ranked as Zito's best of the season.
"He's got a good feel for what he's doing now," Bochy said. "He's confident. He's a stand-up guy and he wants the ball. He's not looking at the record. He's out there trying to win, and that's what you want."
Though it might be lost amid the boos, it was the third time Zito met the minimum standards of a quality start: at least six innings, no more than three earned runs.
But the change-up remained a trouble pitch, especially to Berkman in the sixth.
"Not a bad selection," Zito said. "It was on the black, away. It was just up. Get it down and it's probably a flyball to center field."
The Giants had scored just nine runs for Zito over his seven starts, but they put together a two-run third inning against Houston ace Roy Oswalt. John Bowker hit a down-and-in breaking ball into the right-field arcade for a solo homer in the fourth.
But Oswalt (4-3) yielded no more through eight innings, and the Giants completed their collapse after Merkin Valdez loaded the bases with one out. Cruz hit a run-scoring single to chase Valdez, then Yabu inexplicably threw to first base while Bowker stood well off the bag.
The Astros raced around the bases, second baseman Eugenio Velez threw wildly to the backstop for another error, and the crowd of 30,165 high-tailed it for the exits.
The Giants brought the potential tying run to the plate with two out in the ninth, after Rich Aurilia reached on a bunt single to load the bases. But pinch hitter Ray Durham flied out against Houston closer Jose Valverde.
While Zito didn't fall to 0-8, the Giants remained winless in his starts.
"It's not about me getting wins. It's about the team getting wins," Zito said. "Unfortunately, it didn't happen tonight."
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