Giants left-hander Barry Zito allowed just two hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings last Monday in his first rehab start at Single-A San Jose. He struck out six batters and did not issue a walk while reporting no discomfort in his once-sprained right foot.
Zito was back at it again on Saturday at San Jose, according to CSN Bay Area, surrendering just two earned runs over seven strong frames and striking out six in his second minor league rehab start.
The Giants are likely to move the veteran left-hander to Triple-A Fresno for his next rehab outing and could ask him to make two or three appearances there before they consider activating him from the disabled list sometime in early July.
Ryan Vogelsong has emerged as a highly reliable piece of the San Francisco starting rotation since Zito went down in mid-April and certainly won’t be demoted or moved to a different role. It may be Zito, in fact, who is asked to become a long reliever. Yes, an $18.5 million long reliever. That’s his 2011 salary.
