Zito, not Vogelsong, Likely to Pitch on Saturday

The Giants have their first pitching "problem" of the season: on Saturday, they'll need someone to either provide a spot start or to pitch on short rest.

This is a good thing, because, well, it's July and it's really the first time they've been in trouble ever since Barry Zito got hurt and this Ryan Vogelsong fella took the bump en route to a Hall of Fame career shocking resurgence.

Now it's because Jonathan Sanchez is hanging out on the disabled list, and the Giants

Interestingly, it'll be those two guys -- Zito and Vogelsong -- that will step up to the plate and pitch during Saturday's game.

And whoever does so will be doing it on short rest.

"I'd miss my long-toss day, and I enjoy doing that, but that would be the only adjustment, really," Zito said Thursday, per Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury-News. "I'm ready to go if they need me."

Per Baggarly, both guys said they could step up and pitch on Saturday without any concerns.

But Zito makes the most sense and he's been named the "tentative choice."

First, he's not coming off a bad outing like Vogelsong, so there's no risk to his psyche if he pitches poorly. Second, it's Zito: isn't his mental state kind of permanently jarred at this phase anyway? And finally, he relies much less on power than almost any other pitcher in the big leagues -- lack of rest won't hurt him as much.

And yes, either one would be a better option than calling up someone from Fresno for a spot start, or trying to pitch an entire game using relievers.

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