San Francisco, CA (My Sportsbook) - Mark Buehrle pitched into the seventh
inning and the
Chicago White Sox sent Barry Zito to his eighth loss of the
season with a 3-1 victory over the
San Francisco Giants.
Zito (0-8) was charged with eight hits and two runs, walking a season-high six
and striking out four, to become the first Giants starter to lose his first
eight decisions since Jesse Burkett in 1890. Zito, who was skipped in the
rotation for one turn following his April 27 start versus Cincinnati, is the
first Giants pitcher to drop his opening eight decisions since reliever Rod
Beck went 0-9 in 1996. Zito has also lost six straight interleague decisions.
"I didn't have a good fastball, but I was able to minimize the damage," Zito
said. "Their hits looked worse than they were. They got a couple of breaks and
the other guy held us down. I have to keep the leadoff guy off the bag."
Buehrle (2-5) allowed seven hits and a run, while walking three and logging
one strikeout to snap a five-decision losing streak. Bobby Jenks threw the
ninth inning for his 10th save.
"That's the ugliest two-run game I've seen in my life," White Sox manager
Ozzie Guillen said. "We needed that win for Buehrle. He pitched well."
Jermaine Dye had three hits and scored once for the White Sox, who won for the
seventh time in 10 games despite leaving 14 men on base. Toby Hall also had
three hits in the victory.
Jose Castillo had a pair of hits and scored a run for the Giants, losers of
four in a row.
Dye singled off reliever Keiichi Yabu with two outs in the sixth and went to
second on the pitcher's throwing error. Paul Konerko, who was mired in a
2-for-21 slump, then came through with an RBI single to center for a 3-1
difference.
The Giants threatened in the seventh, loading the bases with two outs, but
Octavio Dotel replaced Buehrle and fanned Randy Winn to end the inning.
Carlos Quentin's sacrifice fly to right scored Orlando Cabrera in the first
inning, and it became 2-0 in the next frame when Cabrera's fly out drove in
Alexei Ramirez.
San Francisco's lone run came in the fifth when a groundout from pinch-hitter
Eugenio Velez scored Castillo.
Game Notes
Winn extended his hitting streak to 12 games...Zito fell to 8-3 lifetime
against the White Sox....The Giants went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring
position and stranded seven on base.
