Barry Zito improves to 5-0 with a 1.49 ERA

Barry Zito’s resurgence continued Wednesday, as he took a shutout into the eighth inning against the Marlins. Four straight singles followed to score a run and knock him from the game with the bases loaded, no outs, and Hanley Ramirez at the plate, but Sergio Romo wriggled out of Zito’s jam. Not only is Zito now 5-0 with a 1.49 ERA this season, he has a 2.38 ERA in 21 starts dating back to last year’s All-Star break. What makes that stretch so improbable is that Zito went into the break at 24-36 with a 4.47 ERA through his first 77 starts for the Giants. His fastball hasn’t improved any from his usual mid-80s velocity, but Zito’s curveball and changeup are back to being weapons and in turn have made his fastball tougher to tee off on. I’m still very skeptical, but with matchups against the Astros and Padres he’s unlikely to turn into a pumpkin next week. If nothing else at least the Giants have a bit less regret about still owing Zito another $65 million after 2010.