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Webb leads Diamondbacks past Giants

Apr 17, 2008 - 1:21 AM By Ryan Leong PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) - On paper, it looked like a good pitching matchup featuring two Cy Young Award winners. Brandon Webb pitched as advertised.

Webb worked eight solid innings, scattering three hits and striking out five as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the San Francisco Giants, 4-1, on Wednesday afternoon.

Webb (4-0) had his sinker working and induced 14 groundouts, giving up just the one run. He struck out the side in the first and did not allow a runner past second base after the fourth inning.

"I felt pretty good," Webb said. "I was able to locate pretty well on the fastball. Pretty good off-speed pitches, some good curveballs at times. Mainly with the fastball, they were really aggressive today. A couple of really quick innings that helped out and I was able to make good pitches when they were swinging early and the defense was stellar behind me again. Another good outing by me and the infielders, too."

Brandon Lyon pitched a perfect ninth to record his third save for Arizona, which has won 10 of its last 12 games and has the best record in the majors at 11-4.

"We've obviously had some trouble in this ballpark, this is a place that has snakebit us a little bit," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. "So to be able to take the last two and win the series after losing the first game is big for us. Anytime we win the second game and have Webby going the third game, we feel good about it.

"With as many games as we've had in our division, even though we don't focus on that, to accumulate the record we have to this point, confidence-wise, it's big for us."

Barry Zito (0-4), meanwhile, continues to struggle and is still searching of his first win in 2008. Zito pitched six innings, allowing four runs on five hits with five walks and only two strikeouts.

"That'll definitely feel good," Zito said when asked about what a win would do for his confidence. "But I've got to go out there and focus pitch to pitch and attack these hitters and just know that the game will eventually play out in my favor if I do what I have to do."

Manager Bruce Bochy isn't concerned about Zito's inauspicious start.

"I think it is fixable." Bochy said. "Each outing, I think he has gotten better with his control and command. He had a good curveball today. He threw some great changeups. I think he feels better where he is at now."

The lefthander got in trouble early when he walked the bases loaded in the second inning, but he struck out Chris Snyder and got Stephen Drew to fly out to right for the first two outs.

But Webb, who was 0-for-5 this season and has a lifetime batting average of .106, helped his own cause with a bloop single to shallow right-center to give Arizona a 2-0 lead.

"It was a big inning for us because there was no outs and the bases loaded," Webb said. "(Snyder) ended up (with) a low pitch getting called on him for a strike. It could've gone either way probably and being up there with two outs, I had to try to do something.

"I got a 2-0 pitch that I ended up (blooping) it in there in right field and it ended up working though. It was a big two runs for us."

The Giants halved the deficit in the fourth when Fred Lewis reached on an infield single to lead off the inning and scored on Eugenio Velez's double to left-center.

Arizona answered in the fifth. After a leadoff single by Drew, Giants first baseman Rich Aurilia fielded an attempted sacrifice bunt from Webb and fired to second base where shortstop Brian Bocock missed the ball and was charged with an error.

The Diamondbacks capitalized on the miscue two batters later as Eric Byrnes hit a ground-rule double to center and Orlando Hudson followed with a bloop single to center to make the score 4-1.

Byrnes was thrown out at the plate on the play and second baseman Velez made a diving catch on a line drive from Conor Jackson to end the inning.

"I feel good," Zito said. "In my second start in Milwaukee, I felt pretty good. I gave up two solo home runs in the fifth inning but I felt pretty good then and the last game. Obviously we lost the game, but I felt good as well. So just based on how I feel out there and the way the ball's coming out of my hand, I do feel encouraged and I'm looking forward to my next game and getting another crack at it."