SAN FRANCISCO — Barry Zito's final inning of the season was subdued. He dropped in a third-strike curveball, got a routine grounder to shortstop and induced one more easy play to first base.

Then he walked off the mound and into the winter, head down, to a scattered ovation that would be modest by Little League standards.

Perhaps someday, thunderous applause will return for Zito at AT&T Park, the Giants will bathe him in runs and he'll get another chance to pitch in the postseason.

If anything, he has time on his side. His $126 million contract is guaranteed through 2013. Heck, we might be filling our cars with hydrogen by then.

But for Thursday night, there was only a 3-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies, and no cause to take a bow after a season that played like a Shakespearean tragedy.

Zito pitched eight respectable innings and one of his three runs was unearned, but he couldn't avoid becoming the first Giants pitcher in 22 years to lose 17 games in a season.

Zito (10-17) matched Dave LaPoint, who was 7-17 in 1985. At least the left-hander avoided tying Ray Sadecki's San Francisco-era record of 18 losses in a season.

Zito failed in a bid to win consecutive starts. It's something he managed to do just once all season. But it was an acceptable ending for a season that began with an 0-8 record after nine starts, a crisis of confidence and a midseason reinvention as a pitcher.

"He should feel good about where he is as we go into spring training next year," Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. "He has been a different guy. Not only has his stuff picked up, but also his command and his confidence." Zito is planning an intense offseason workout regimen that includes plyometrics, dynamic stability exercises and Brian Wilson yelling in his ear. The Giants' tattooed closer, a noted workout fiend, is staying at Zito's house in Los Angeles. He won't need a coxswain's bullhorn to get Zito out of bed.

"He'll definitely motivate me," Zito said. "I'll get after it.

It's time to make some strides, physically. I'll work harder than I've ever worked. It's all going to come together." He'll need one more ingredient, though: run support. The Giants scored one run or fewer for Zito in 14 of his 32 outings.

Perhaps it'll be easier for Zito next season, when the Giants won't rely on him to shoulder a young rotation. Tim Lincecum is almost certainly going to start on opening day, whether or not he wins the Cy Young award.

Because the Giants open the season with three games against the Milwaukee Brewers, a team that has pounded Zito like veal Parmigiana, he might be the club's No.4 starter out of the gate.

Wherever he starts, Zito is confident he'll finish strong. He felt the same way last spring, but insists this time it'll be different.

"Because I pretty much got to rock bottom this year," he said. "I know what it's like. I won't worry about getting there again." The Giants put the tying runs on base against closer Brian Fuentes in the ninth, but Aaron Rowand struck out while chasing a high fastball and pinch hitter Pablo Sandoval lined out. Rowand was 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and is batting .208 in those situations since the All-Star break.

Now the Giants are girding for a season-ending three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and at least the attendants won't have to line the visiting clubhouse with plastic sheeting. The Dodgers already spilled champagne when they clinched the National League West with Arizona's loss Thursday afternoon.

"I'm not going to be concerned with how they work it or who they play," said Bochy, chapped at being swept by Colorado. "We want to win some games."