John Shea
SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle
Why does the Giants' offense, which has had its share of drowsy spells this season, fall fast asleep on Barry Zito's watch?
"I wish I could explain it," manager Bruce Bochy said. "I can't."
Zito threw six scoreless innings Wednesday night, but he took a no-decision because the Giants waited until Zito's departure to cross the plate and secure a 1-0 victory over the Reds.
Which seemed fine with the 31-year-old lefty.
"It's not about individual achievement anymore," Zito said. "We're in a race. It's about the team getting a win every day, no matter how it happens. I think all these guys are willing to make sacrifices with statistics for the team to win."
It was the ninth time in Zito's 25 starts he received zero run support, and ain't it tough to win under those conditions? Zito entered with the lowest run-support average in the majors - 3.04 runs per nine innings - and it slipped to 2.92 on Wednesday.
The difference in the game was a line drive Nate Schierholtz, starting for the first time in four games, hit to left-center in the eighth inning. Reds left fielder Wladimir Balentien ran toward the ball, dived and flat-out missed it, enabling Edgar Renteria to score from first base.
Zito was gone by then, replaced by Sergio Romo, who got credit for the win for his 12/3 perfect innings, including striking out all three batters in the seventh. Jeremy Affeldt struck out pinch-hitter Laynce Nix to end the eighth, and Brian Wilson went 1-2-3 in the ninth for his 30th save.
The only hits off Zito were opposite-field bloopers that fell just inside the first-base line. Adam Rosales singled in the fifth, and Drew Stubbs doubled in the sixth. It was the first big-league hit for Stubbs, who was called up from Triple-A Louisville to replace Willy Taveras, who went on the disabled list.
Zito was sharp despite the game being pushed back 40 minutes because of rain. The Giants caught a break when Joey Votto was removed from the game after a half-inning because of blurry vision, and Zito said, "It's big when you take the best hitter out of the lineup."
For the most part, Reds starter Bronson Arroyo matched Zito, shutout inning for shutout inning, though the Giants had a couple of chances. They loaded the bases with one out in the second, but Zito ended the rally by bouncing into a double play.
Juan Uribe's seventh-inning double positioned runners at second and third with two outs, which prompted Bochy to hit Fred Lewis for Zito. Lewis popped out.
Zito is 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA in his last six starts, five of which the Giants won. Asked about his lack of offensive support, he said, "I don't think there's any rhyme or reason. It's a coincidence."
Schierholtz added, "It's been the case most of the year. His ERA is a lot better than his record, especially the last couple of months. He just hasn't gotten run support, unfortunately. He's had a great attitude and kept us in games."
The Giants were without Freddy Sanchez (left shoulder) and a worn-down Pablo Sandoval (ribs, calf), and Sanchez is expected to miss today's series finale. Bochy said Bengie Molina will get a rest, meaning Eli Whiteside will catch Matt Cain.
From: MLB.com San Francisco (66-54) Won 3 | San Francisco 1, Cincinnati 0 |  Cincinnati (50-69) Lost 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Standings thru 8/19/09 | Recap: SF | CIN | Wrap | Gameday |
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