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Zito collapses in second inning as Giants lose 6-2
By Paul Wertheim August 8, 2008 |
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SAN FRANCISCO--Manny Ramirez made his first appearance wearing Dodgers blue at AT&T Park to throw more fuel on the perennial rivalry flames between San Francisco and Los Angeles -- only in tonight's 6-2 loss to the Dodgers, the superstar slugger was as quiet as a church mouse. The loss came on the heels of another Barry Zito collapse when he lost control of his offspeed pitch and curveball in the top of the third inning. Even though the Giants jumped out to an early 1-0 lead off Bengie Molina's two-out double that scored Randy Winn in the bottom of the second, the Dodgers hammered Zito for five earned runs in the third. Los Angeles catcher Danny Ardoin smashed a lead-off solo home run into the left-field bleachers to tie the game, 1-1, and starting pitcher Brad Penny gave Giants' fans a queasy feeling with a single to right. Russel Martin and Matt Kemp joined Penny to load the bases with no outs. After a resounding round of boos and jeers greeted Jeff Kent with the bases loaded and no outs, he smashed a change-up through the left-center gap for a three-RBI double that cleared the bases. Kent would later score on shortstop Angel Berroa's double, and the Dodgers went into the bottom of the third leading 5-1. Ramirez came into tonight's game batting .565 since leaving the Red Sox and joining the Dodgers on July 31. His four home runs in his first six games as a Dodger made him the first player ever to accomplish the feat in franchise history. However, he faltered through an 0-for-5 performance in his first appearance here as a Dodger. "I don't have to worry about him (Ramirez) now," manager Joe Torre said. "He was a very tough hitter to try to pitch too and get out." Zito's troubles in the second almost seemed like a weird aberration after his scoreless eight-inning performance in San Diego on Aug. 2. In five innings of work, he gave up five runs on six hits, striking out only three L.A. batters. The five earned runs in the third were the most he has allowed in a single inning since April 27 against Cincinnati. "He went through the same routine he did before his last start," manager Bruce Bochy said. "Once he went a couple of innings, it looked like he was getting in sync there. But that's probably been his biggest issue, because he's thrown some fine ballgames and the big inning certainly has hurt him this year." After the game, Zito look down-trodden but still optimistic about the four scoreless innings he pitched tonight. "I got to make better pitches down with the change-up," Zito said. "The rest of the innings were pretty all right. It's was that one inning that got out of hand, a couple strange things happened and that was it." Bengie Molina drove in both runs for the Giants and went 2-for-4. Tomorrow's game at AT&T Park will commemorate the 50th anniversary featuring Giants outfielders. Barry Bonds refused to attend the ceremonies claiming family responsibilities, but Kevin Mitchell made an appearance at tonight's game and will be at the ceremony tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. San Francisco will send Kevin Correia (2-6, 5.53) to the mound to face Dodger's starter Hiroki Kuroda (6-8, 4.21) in the second game of the three-game set. |
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