Nashville Sounds Left-Hander Threw 14.0 Scoreless Innings, Earned Two Wins
Nashville, TN – Nashville Sounds pitcher Barry Zito has been named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week for the May 25th – 31st period.
The 37-year old was a perfect 2-0 in a pair of starts during the week, shutting out both the Sacramento River Cats and Las Vegas 51s through 14.0 innings of work. He was one of four hurlers to win two games over the week and the only pitcher with two starts to not allow a run. In addition, opponents batted .111 (5-for-45) off him, the third-best mark in the league.
He finished the outing by retiring the last seven batters he faced and pitched the Sounds to their fourth shutout win of the season.
On Sunday, the left-hander dazzled his way to 8.0 shutout frames against Las Vegas at First Tennessee Park. He faced the minimum through the first five innings and his outing was the longest by a Nashville pitcher this season. Zito allowed a season-low two hits, fanned a season-high six batters and also produced two double plays with his 103 pitches.
Overall this season, the California native is 3-4 with a 4.12 ERA (29er/63.1ip) and .258 opponents average (63-for-244). His 11 starts are tied for the league lead and his 63.1 innings of work are third-most in the PCL.
This marks the second time in Zito’s career that he has earned a PCL Pitcher of the Week award. He was recognized for his terrific pitching during the May 1st-7th period back in 2000 as a member of the River Cats. The veteran was also named the American League Pitcher of the Week with Oakland in 2000, becoming just the second player since 1998 to ever win a PCL and MLB Player of the Week award in the same season (Kerry Wood).
The weekly PCL award is the first for a Nashville player this season. The Sounds had two players win the honor last year [Mike Fiers (April 28th-May 4th) & Matt Clark (August 18th-24th)].
Zito was drafted by Oakland in the 1st round (9th pick) of the 1999 amateur draft. He signed a minor league contract with the A’s on February 17th, 2015.
