75 Barry Zito, SP

Giants starter Barry Zito endured another rough outing as he suffered his third loss of the season Sunday afternoon against the Rockies.

Zito (3-3), who made his ninth start of the season, surrendered a run-scoring single to Carlos Gonzalez in the first and two more in the fifth. The left-hander was charged with five runs and 11 hits over 5 2/3 innings of work. He struck out four and walked two in a 5-0 defeat.

Zito has allowed 13 runs -- 10 earned -- over his last 11 1/3 innings of work. He is scheduled to make his next start at home against the Rockies. Zito is 3-0 with a stellar 0.55 ERA in five starts at AT&T Park.

Giants starter Barry Zito took his first loss since April 16 on Tuesday night against the Blue Jays. He allowed eight runs (five earned) on 12 hits over 5 2/3 innings in a 10-6 defeat.

The left-hander was tagged with a six-spot in the first before settling down. Then in the sixth, he put two men on with two outs before being pulled for George Kontos, who allowed both inherited runners to score.

Zito, who threw 101 pitches, also struck out two and walked two while taking his second loss.

His next start is scheduled for Sunday against the Rockies. When Zito faced Colorado on April 10, he worked seven scoreless innings for a win.

Giants starting pitcher Barry Zito has been on some kind of roll this season, allowing more than one earned run in one of his seven starts so far. Even for a pitcher who has been as hot as Zito, a trip to Colorado is usually bad news, but Fantasy owners might not have much to worry about in Fantasy Week 7 (May 13-19).

Zito starts twice in Week 7, the first at Toronto Tuesday, before closing the week out in Colorado. The Blue Jays surprisingly rank just  22nd in the majors in runs scored, so Zito should be able to handle them pretty easily. The Rockies, on the other hand, rank third in runs scored, thanks in part to their home park.

Surprisingly, Zito has never had many problems in Colorado, posting a 3.25 ERA in 52 2/3 innings of work there, a very surprising mark for a guy who has not been particularly effective since joining the NL West.

Given his track record in Colorado and his recent success, Fantasy owners should not think twice about starting Barry Zito with two starts in Week 7. 

Giants starter Barry Zito gave up one earned run or fewer for the fourth straight outing on Wednesday against the Phillies. He allowed one run on four hits over seven innings of work.

The left-hander surrendered a solo homer to Kevin Frandsen in the fourth and faced the minimum after that until coming back out for the eighth. In that inning, he gave up a leadoff single and was pulled for Santiago Casilla.

Zito left in line for the win but the bullpen was unable to hold the lead. He also struck out three with no walks in the no-decision.

His ERA went from 3.06 to 2.75 on the outing. 

Zito is scheduled to pitch next on Tuesday against the Blue Jays.

A 3-1 record and 3.06 ERA haven’t been enough to get Fantasy owners on board with Giantsstarter Barry Zito. Owned in 69% of leagues, Zito did have a nice string of 25-straight scoreless innings recently, but it wasn’t enough for analysts to consider him more than a low-end streaming option.

During Tuesday’s live broadcast of Fantasy Baseball Today, Nando Di Fino said he might start a two-start Zito over a one-start Zach McAllister but not necessarily over a one-start Justin Masterson.