Barry Zito, stopper.
That’s his role in the biggest game of his San Francisco Giants career — Game 5 of the NLCS on Friday. He’s in the sixth year of his seven-year, $126 million contract, and he hasn’t pitched a game with so much at stake.
Well, unless we count Game 4 of the Division Series, in which he got knocked out in the third inning only to see the Giants rally to beat the Reds and then clinch the series the following day.
This time, Zito has to begin a three-game win streak.
If the Giants lose one more, the Cardinals are heading to the World Series for the second straight year.
The Giants won three straight to eliminate the Reds in the first round.
Now they’re hoping to get a chance to return home and play Game 6 and 7. Those would be started by Ryan Vogelsong and Matt Cain, respectively.
First it’s Zito.
“Zito has been tremendous for us,” Hunter Pence said. “If we get home with Vogelsong and Cain, we feel very confident. Everybody should go out and enjoy the game tomorrow. Don’t forget how hard we worked to get the right to play in this series.”
The odds aren’t with the Giants. Since the LCS became a best-of-seven event in 1985, just four of the 33 teams that trailed 3-1 came back to win.