PITTSBURGH -- In desperate need of a morale boost, the Giants instead have to deal with another significant problem.

A day after Pablo Sandoval was put on the disabled list and hours after Marco Scutaro was diagnosed with a serious finger injury, Barry Zito had yet another disastrous road start. Zito didn't make it through the fifth inning of a 12-8 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, giving up eight earned runs on 11 hits.

At this point, Zito's road problems are no longer a small sample size. He has an ERA of 11.28 in five road starts and has thrown just 221/3 combined innings.

The trouble started in the first inning Wednesday, when Zito gave up four singles but limited the Pirates to

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David with Dean Treanor: Manager of the Indianapolis Indians

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At some point, I stopped counting Gerrit Cole’s standing ovations Tuesday night.

One was for taking the mound at PNC Park to throw hiswarm-up pitches, as if every Pittsburgh Pirates fan wanted the former No. 1 overall draft pick to feel their embrace, their hope, maybe a little of their anxiety.

One was for wiggling out of a first-inning jam, to the extent that burrowing 99-mph fastballs low in the strike zone constitutes “wiggling.”

One was for what Cole said was his first hit since high school — a full-count, bases-loaded, two-run single against two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecumin his first major-league at-bat.

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