Wounded Marine inspires Zito

SAN FRANCISCO -- Wheeled out to the front of the pitching mound, Marine Cpl. Nick Kimmel adjusted himself in his wheelchair and slowly rose on a pair of computerized prosthetic legs Monday afternoon.Having stepped on an I.E.D device in Afghanistan last December 1, Kimmel lost three limbs, his right arm surviving the blast, and with the appendage gripping a baseball on this Memorial Day, he tossed the ceremonial first pitch to a crouched Sergio Romo.Talk about perspective-building moments."It's something we hear about, but until you see it, see the whites of their eyes," said Giants starter Barry Zito, his voice trailing off. "When you go to sleep at night and thank God, I have all four limbs, that's when it hits you. We deal with all this minutia and (Kimmel) just inspires all of us."The real world of war and the cost of it does not often intersect with the fantasy land in which sport resides. But when it does, especially on the most solemn of patriotic American holidays, the result can induce a veritable purple mountains majesty of goosebumps.And Zito, whose patriotism shines through in his Strikeouts for Troops non-profit foundation that provides the comforts of home for wounded soldiers and their families, added notches in both his real world and baseball belts.If being a beneficiary of Zito's foundation has helped Kimmel in a financial sense, Zito's showing against Arizona lifted the spirits of Kimmel, who said he turned down a baseball scholarship to Arizona State to join the Marines.Zito reached into his more successful past and threw seven-plus innings of two-run ball, keeping the Diamondbacks off balance enough to lead the Giants to a 4-2 victory over their National League West rivals."Increible," catcher Hector Sanchez said in Spanish. Incredible."He did a tremendous job. His location was excellent and all of his pitches were working. He is working hard. Tremendous. Incredible."Zito was coming off his worst outing of the season, a three-inning stinker at Milwaukee on Wednesday in which he surrendered eight runs, including six in the first inning, on five hits and four walks.Monday, to start a seven-game homestead?"He washed that one off," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Zito.In improving to 4-2 this season, and lowering his ERA to 3.41, Zito has already won more games this season through Memorial Day than he did in all of 2011, when he went 3-4 with a 5.87 ERA."He's a man," Bochy said of Zito, when asked if his high-priced left-hander with a Giants career record of 47-63 is mentally tough."He's a team player through and through. He doesn't dwell on what happened."He can't. Not when such harsh, real-life lessons as those provided by the likes of Kimmel are front and center for Zito, who, along with fellow big leaguers Mark Kotsay of the San Diego Padres and Jake Peavy of the Chicago White Sox are on a "text chain" with the soldier to keep up on his progress after being injured.Kimmel met them in spring training in Arizona, Kimmel a guest of Zito's foundation."I've been monitoring his progress," Zito said. "From getting his prosthetics to working on a guide rail and all his progressions."He's such an inspiration."On a sun-splashed day celebrating America and its heroes, so, too was Zito.