Giants Win For Zito; Beat LA

Sep 25, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti (33) visits the mound to talk with starting pitcher Barry Zito (75) during the fourth inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT

Barry Zito goes out on top, logging a notch in the win department in the final start of his 7 year San Francisco Giants career.

He got the job done in 5 innings pitched, which was a controversial topic among Giants fans due to the fact that Bruce Bochy pulled him between innings when he pinch hit Roger Kieschnick for his batting spot in the order. It was unfortunate and disappointing that Zito didn’t get his very much deserved standing ovation at home, but it was apparent that Bochy was managing for the win.

Zito came away with an impressive performance, leaving the game pretty much unscathed, giving up only 1 run on 4 hits.

The Giants helped him out early, hopping out to a 3-0 lead in the 2nd inning when Tony Abreu knocked in 3 runs of his 4 RBI night. Hunter Pence, Buster Posey, and Pablo Sandoval were all swept in across home plate on Abreu’s triple.

Matt Kemp put the Dodgers on the board with an RBI double and Brandon Crawford‘s defensive gaff allowed another run to make the score 3-2.

Sep 25, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval (48) points to the sky after hitting a home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fourth inning at AT

Sandoval would pad Zito’s lead, making the score 5-2 with a two run homerun to left, his 14th of the season. Zito left the game with that lead and would get the victory, despite the Dodgers cutting it close, scoring a run in the 6th and a run in the 8th.

Adrian Gonzales teased a Dodger rally in the 9th when he hit a double off the bricks in right-center field, but Sergio Romo pitched out of it for the save, securing Zito’s win.

Zito was the first to hop up out of the dugout to congratulate his teammates in the high-five line, and got a round of hugs. He looked genuinely happy to have gotten the honor to pitch one last time in front of the home crowd.