SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — Barry Zito, the 126 million-dollar ace southpaw pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, was demoted to the bullpen, a day after falling to 0-6, the worst record in Major League Baseball.
The struggling starter has surrendered a .336 batting average to rival hitters and posted a 7.53 earned-run average, prompting manager Bruce Bochy to drop him from the starting rotation with no timetable for a return.
"We'll watch and see how things go," he said. "Right now, we're going to leave it at that, that he's going to be helping us in the bullpen."
Zito, the 2002 Cy Young Award winner as best pitcher, was jeered by home fans Sunday as he walked off the mound, having surrendered eight runs in three innings in what would become a 10-1 loss to Cincinnati to become just the third pitcher since 1956 to go 0-6 in April.
The others were Dave Stewart of Texas in 1984 and Mike Maroth of Detroit in 2003.
"Obviously I'm hurting the team right now," Zito said. "I just have to keep grinding and fighting. For me this is an opportunity to stick it out and toe the line."
Zito, 29, made the only relief appearance of his career last August, pitching a perfect seventh inning against San Diego.
Zito, who went 11-13 with a 4.56 earned-run average last season, is likely to be used in long relief situations but because he threw Sunday is likely not going to see a relief appearance before Friday.
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