San Francisco pitcher Barry Zito won’t be looking back when he takes the mound for the Giants on Wednesday in the opening game of the World Series against the Detroit Tigers.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy named Zito his game one starter on Tuesday, a day after San Francisco completed an unlikely rally from a 1-3 deficit to beat the reigning champion St. Louis Cardinals in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series.
Zito pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings in a 5-0 game five victory to keep San Francisco’s season alive.
“Desperation never came into my mind,” Zito said of getting the ball with his team facing elimination last Friday. “Maybe that’s what other people were feeling.
“For me being on the mound is an opportunity to express my talent the best I can, and a lot of the circumstances swirling around, they should not be a factor.”
So Zito will try to have the same mental approach as he pitches his first career World Series game, two years after his poor regular season play saw him left off the 2010 post-season roster and he could only watch his Giants team-mates win the World Series.
“It’s not important to reflect right now,” Zito said. “There’s work to do. I’m going to be on the mound here in the next 24 hours, so that’s where my focus is at.”
The Tigers swept past the New York Yankees in four games to claim the American League title and book their berth in Major League Baseball’s best-of-seven championship showcase.
They’ll send reigning American League Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander to the mound as they launch a bid for a first World Series title in 28 years.
They last had a chance to win it all in 2006, when they also had a layoff before the Series started, came out flat and lost to St. Louis in five games.
Nevertheless, Zito said he wasn’t expecting Detroit to exhibit any signs of rust after six days without a game.
“They’re still 25 guys with immense talent, so that’s probably going to come to the surface,” Zito said.
Bochy remains impressed with how Zito, a 2002 Cy Young Award winner who joined the Giants on a seven-year, $126 million contract prior to the 2007 season, responded to his painful benching two years ago — and with how he has reinvented himself since.
Zito’s 15 regular-season wins were the most he has ever had with San Francisco and the most he’s had in a campaign since he won 16 with Oakland in 2006.
“It says a lot about his mental toughness, his makeup,” Bochy said. “It wasn’t easy not to put him on the post-season (roster)… But the way he handled it was so impressive.
“For him to be at this point and starting the first game, I was really glad, proud, to tell him that.”
Giants turn to Zito to open World Series
