Andrew Baggarly - MercuryNews
Giants Manager Bruce Bochy started a new, farm-fresh combination on his infield Friday, knowing that young mistakes would be part of the deal.
Sure enough, third baseman Pablo Sandoval made a blunder that a more experienced player probably would have avoided. But Barry Zito, a 30-year-old former Cy Young Award winner, had no such excuse while committing many more missteps in an 11-7 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
Zito (8-16) allowed a grand slam to Edwin Encarnacion in the third inning to trigger fireworks over the Ohio River. The Giants' youth brigade stormed back in the fourth to tie with a four-run rally off hard-throwing Edinson Volquez, but Zito found more trouble in the bottom of the inning.
"I'm accountable," said Zito, whose error made one of his eight runs unearned. "It's hard to lay my head on my pillow and blame anybody but myself."
Zito was coming off victories in consecutive starts, something he hadn't done all season. He was trying to win three in a row for the first time since May 23-June 4 of last season. But he couldn't overcome a flat change-up while facing a Reds team that traded Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr. this month.
"It looked like he was just up in the zone more tonight," Bochy said.
Eugenio Velez's two-run triple in the fourth completed a four-run comeback and gave Zito a do-over. But the left-hander's troubles began anew when Jolbert Cabrera led off with a double.
First baseman Travis Ishikawa made a heads-up play after fielding Paul Bako's grounder, snapping a throw to Sandoval to catch Cabrera in a rundown. Sandoval chased Cabrera back to second base but committed his throw too soon. Cabrera changed direction, noticed that nobody was covering third and rushed past an empty-handed Sandoval to take the base.
"He's got to realize nobody's behind him there," Bochy said. "He gave up the ball too quick."
Sandoval talked with Omar Vizquel in the dugout after the inning.
"I learn quick," said Sandoval, who hadn't played regularly at third base since April, 2006, at Low-A Augusta. "The next time, if he's safe, he'll be safe at second base."
Zito was blameless for failing to cover third base. He had broken toward first base on contact and couldn't have rushed across the diamond in time.
But there was no absolving Zito's mistake to the next batter. Zito dropped the ball while attempting a barehanded pickup of Volquez's sacrifice bunt, then bounced a hurried throw for an error that loaded the bases.
There would be no miraculous escape. Chris Dickerson hit a tiebreaking, two-run double, and after an intentional walk, Zito ended his evening by plunking Joey Votto to force in another run.
Billy Sadler's command was no better. He issued a bases-loaded walk. The next inning, Sadler hit Cabrera with a pitch before serving up a two-run homer to Dickerson.
Before the game, Bochy said he would give Sandoval a chance to establish himself at third base over the remainder of the season. He also gave Emmanuel Burriss his first start at shortstop since July 24.
The shift put Ivan Ochoa on the bench and opened up second base for Velez, who played erratically when given chances in April. But he might be in a better frame of mind this time. In addition to roping a triple off Volquez, he hit a run-scoring double in his next at-bat.
"When they give me an opportunity, I've got to do something," Velez said. "I see my average in the .220s and that's hard for me. I've never seen that before in my life. I just want to finish strong."
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