I think it’s pretty obvious what the main story is coming out of today’s game.

If Ryan Theriot can continue slapping singles in key spots Barry Zito pitched a good game, which is not something that you would expect if you’ve seen Barry Zito pitch in the last six years. He got a little roughed up in the first, but settled down and controlled the game, pitching through errors and keeping the ball down. He mixed his pitches well, fooling batters with his curve and slider, and locating his slowball on the outside corner regularly. In the ongoing Barry Zito quandary, we’re 2-0 in the “Could be a serviceable pitcher” column versus “Complete and utter disaster,” so that’s progress.

The notion that Barry Zito could actually be a decent fourth starter seems pretty far-fetched, but hey. Ryan Vogelsong happened, so anything’s possible.

A note on Wilson: the news that Brian Wilson has “structural damage” in his elbow and will most likely need surgery – possibly his second Tommy John – is definitely bad news. Wilson was absolutely phenomenal 2009-10, and his struggles in 2011 were probably more a result of injury than any real Ankieling on his part.

On the other hand, the Giants really haven’t relied on Wilson in a longer time than you probably realize. My compatriot Thomas Todd wrote this article two months ago, which is still worth a read. Long story short: the Giants have a killer bullpen and some good (cheap) minor league options for the future, so we’ll be okay. Still, best wishes to Wilson, who by all accounts works like a dog, and I just hope he didn’t Robb Nen himself to win the 2010 World Series.

Brandon Watch 2012:

-Crawford: Another day with a couple of odd plays, surrounded by otherwise stellar defense on his part. Crawford’s gonna be one of those guys who accumulates a fair number of errors, just because of his style of play and the number of plays he’s a part of. Proving once again why errors and Fielding Percentage are stupid.

-Belt: It’s hard to watch a guy who doesn’t exist, and it’s pretty clear where Belt lies in Bochy’s mind. It’s understandable, if not ideal, that Bochy decided to leave Schierholtz and Huff in the lineup after their respective good games on Friday, but after Huff’s 0-4 today, if Belt isn’t in the lineup tomorrow against Kevin Correia – a righty – then we ain’t about to see him anytime soon. Of course, the current model seems to be working, so maybe they need to lose before shakeups happen.

Stats of the day:

8: Consecutive games that Pablo Sandoval has gotten a hit. For those keeping score at home, that’s every game this season.

8: Consecutive games with 4+ runs for the Giants.

7: Tweets saying “Wait, I thought Casilla was going to be the closer” when Santiago Casilla took the mound in the 8th inning.

4: Extra-base hits for Nate Schierholtz this season, out of six hits total, good for a .882 Slugging.

3: Straight games for the Giants without grounding into a double play.

2: Hits for Angel Pagan today, including his first leadoff hit. Hate for Angel Pagan fading, fading…

1: Walk issued by Barry Zito today, after issuing none in his complete game shutout.

0: Out of 10, the amount that I’m worried about Pablo Sandoval’s defense.

Bonus stat of the day:

.500: The Giants’ record this year. Yeeeeah buddy.