Bengie Molina’s bat and Barry Zito’s quality start helped the Giants put an end to their losing streak. A 6-3 win over the Nationals gave San Francisco their first win of the second half.
Zito came up big for the Giants, getting them their first win of the second half. He got off on the right foot and needs to salvage his record in this part of the season. Zito scattered seven hits over six innings of work while giving up just three runs. He is still having trouble with his control, walking three hitters, but striking out five more. Jack Taschner, Sergio Romo worked a scoreless seventh inning, and Tyler Walker setup Brian Wilson for the save after allowing just one runner on base in the eighth inning. Wilson earned his twenty-sixth save of the season after walking a hitter in the final frame.
Homeruns from Molina and Fred Lewis in the first inning gave Zito a quick three-run lead to work with. Molina also added another homer in the fourth inning to give San Francisco a 5-2 lead. Aaron Rowand was one-for-four with a single that brought in a run. Omar Vizquel has been slumping this year since coming back from surgery, but also drove in a run with a double, he was one-for-three.
Tonight Kevin Correia will attempt to start a win streak for the Giants, but Nationals starting pitcher Collin Balester will try to stop them. Game time is set for 7:15 p.m tonight. The Giants will begin benching Vizquel after his failure to perform at the plate. It is a real shame that it looks like his career might finally be over, but there is still no one else that I would rather have playing shortstop in the bottom of the ninth with the tying and winning runs on second and third base.
