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Giants, M's, and Royals prove strong pitching ensures nothingWASHINGTON — A baseball axiom says teams win games more with pitching than with hitting. That hasn't been the case for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals.They have pitching staffs that rank among the best in baseball, but the Giants were 25-25 going into Wednesday's game at the Washington Nationals, while the Mariners and Royals had losing records."We are getting better at our situational hitting. But early on we scuffled and scoring runs seemed nearly impossible," Giants outfielder Aaron Rowand said.The Giants' 3.90 ERA was fifth lowest in the majors, but they were last in runs scored (199) and their .239 average with runners in scoring position was third worst in baseball.One of the victims is Giants lefty Barry Zito, who is 1-4 with a 3.35 ERA during May."We've had opportunities, but we seem to squander them more for him than anybody else on the staff," Giants outfielder Randy Winn says. "We have to hit behind runners, things like that. Those are the kinds of plays that turn one-run leads into two- or three-run leads so you don't have to sweat late in the game."The Mariners, 25-28 but owning the second-best ERA (3.92) in the American League, have a string of offensive deficiencies, even though outfielder Ichiro Suzuki went into Wednesday's game vs. the Baltimore Orioles with a 26-game hitting streak.The Mariners had baseball's worst on-base percentage (.311), and their 46 home runs ranked 21st and their team average was 19th. Their 205 runs topped only the Giants' total.Kansas City's pitching staff had a 4.18 ERA, 10th best in baseball, and the majors' ERA leader in ace Zack Greinke (1.10). But the Royals (23-28 entering Wednesday's game at the Tampa Bay Rays) ranked 27th in runs with 211. Their on-base percentage (.323) was 25th, and their team average (.252) was 23rd.....
