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Zito, Molina carry Giants to fourth straight win

May 24, 2007 - 6:47 AM SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- Barry Zito bounced back in impressive fashion.

Zito pitched seven strong innings and Bengie Molina drove in four runs as the San Francisco Giants won their fourth straight game with a 9-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday night.

A former Cy Young Award winner, Zito had struggled in his last two starts, surrendering 13 runs and 12 hits in his previous 10 innings in back-to-back losses.

"You definitely have to learn your lessons and what the reason why whatever happened happened and make the adequate adjustment the next game," Zito said. "You have to have short-term memory because if you take the past into the present in this game as in life as well, things aren't going to go well. You have to treat every day like a new moment."

The lefthander was more in control this time around, yielding one run and four hits in helping the Giants capture their third series sweep of this campaign. He struck out two and walked two.

"I think just be more aggressive in the strike zone," Zito said. "If they're going to beat me, let them beat me. Not beat myself."

"We had a little talk. That was one of the first things I mentioned to him," said Molina, whose the club's catcher. "I told him you're trying to pick up too much corners instead of just making the hitters hit his pitches. (Zito) was trying to make them miss. That was one of the things we discussed - being more aggressive."

Zito (4-5) gave up his only run when Houston's Morgan Ensberg hit his third homer to left-center in the fourth inning. It was Ensberg's 100th blast of his career.

"I've never faced (Zito)," Enberg said. "I thought he threw real well."

San Francisco's Russ Ortiz tossed a scoreless ninth in his first outing since coming off the disabled list on Monday with an injured elbow. He began the season as the club's fifth starter.

The Giants' offense wasted little time getting on the board. Molina stroked a two-run single in the first and Ray Durham added a sacrifice two frames later against Houston rookie Matt Albers for a 3-0 lead.

"I was trying to go off the plate a little bit and (Molina) went over there and got it," Albers said. "It was just a bad pitch. A bad choice."

In the seventh inning, Durham delivered an RBI single and scored on Molina's two-run triple - his first of the season - to extend San Francisco's advantage to 6-1.

"It (the triple) was something I think about ever since I signed here," Molina said. "If I ever hit it down in that corner, that might be my only chance. I just went for it. I got it."

Albers (1-4) dropped his third consecutive decision, allowing four runs and four hits with five walks in 6 1/3 innings. The 24-year-old righthander has allowed 16 earned runs over his last 10 frames.

"Obviously walks hurt you. I was missing off the plate a little bit," Albers said. "I did a pretty good job keeping the ball out of the middle of the plate. I gave up two in the first and one in the third and then threw some zeros. I felt better as it went and felt a little rhythm."