Reds 7, Giants 3. Yeah, Kevin Correia gave up a grand slam to break a 3–3 tie. Yeah, the Giants only mustered one run from two bases-loaded situations early. Sure, the home plate umpire had a nasty little strike zone. But the blame for this one falls squarely on Mr. Rockstar. Zito was fine through three innings then started pinching his cheeks. Five walks in one inning? I don’t care how tiny the strike zone; that was inexcusable. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was pitching scared. Those five walks forced two runs, tied the game 2–2, and completely changed the momentum of the game. Worse, that inning bumped his pitch count from 40 to 80 and insured an early night. Come on, Barry, we’re tired of the walks. How many times do we have to hear you say something like this in the post-game interview: "I think I was trying to be too fine out there. Pounding the zone was good for me in the first three innings. I fell into some nitpicking a little bit."
PLODAG: Ryan Klesko, no hits, but on base three times. The only time he put the ball in play, he smoked a line drive right at Conine with the bases loaded. On a luckier day, that ball goes down the right field line and the Giants blow the game wide open. If Rich Aurilia starts instead of Klesko against a right-handed pitcher, I will organize a putsch.
