Diamondbacks stymied by Greinke, Dodgers in series opener: By The Numbers

Other than it being Elvis Night at Chase Field, Friday was an evening to forget for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Another date with the Los Angeles Dodgers, another loss for Arizona.

Other than Yasiel Puig’s solo homer, through three innings it looked like the two teams were going to be engaged in a pitchers’ duel, as the score was just 1-0 Dodgers. Wade Miley had only allowed three other baserunners in that time, and Arizona had collected three hits and a walk without being able to get anyone home.

The wheels starting coming off in the fourth for Miley, however. The D-backs starter gave up four hits and two runs in the frame — with two on base when Puig grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.

Miley would give up one more solo homer before exiting after six innings of work and 103 pitches.

Los Angeles starter Zack Greinke, however, only got stronger as the game wore on. He kept the D-backs scoreless through eight innings, only giving up two hits and one walk after the third frame. He struck out six in 106 pitches while recording his seventh win of the season.

The Dodgers took the three-game series opener by a score of 7-0. Arizona fell to 16-28 with the loss, while Los Angeles, third place in the NL West, improved to 23-20.

Here’s a look at Friday’s contest by the numbers:

0

The Diamondbacks still have no home wins in 2014 against Los Angeles in six tries, including two in Australia to open the season. Arizona is 1-8 overall against L.A. this year.

2

Greinke improved to 2-1 against Arizona this season. He has pitched 19.1 innings in those contests and given up 16 hits, but only two earned runs. He has struck out 22 D-backs batters in total. His ERA dropped down to 2.03 with the win Friday.

4

After having a 10-game stretch in which the Diamondbacks won seven, the team has now dropped three of its last four games.

5

Friday’s loss was Arizona’s fifth time being shut out in 2014, including the second at the hands of the Dodgers. The Diamondbacks were last shut out on April 27 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

7

Miley’s record (3-4) fell below .500 for the first time all season. Other than giving up four earned runs, he gave up seven hits and walked three. It’s the fourth time this year he has allowed seven or more hits in a game. His ERA crept up to 4.94 in the loss, and he is now 1-3 against the Dodgers this season.

10.22

Greinke left the game with such a comfortable lead that the Dodgers brought in a reliever with a 10.22 ERA, Brian Wilson, to finish off the ninth. Wilson walked one and struck out two in a scoreless inning of work, dropping his ERA to 9.45. D-backs catcher Miguel Montero was initially ruled safe at first on a grounder, but his hit was waived off after video review.

11

Montero had hit safely in eight straight games against the Dodgers and reached base safely in 11 straight, but that all ended Friday as he went 0-for-4, with his ninth-inning single being overturned. Montero’s batting average fell to .278 on the season.

12

D-backs outfielder Gerardo Parra went 1-for-4 and has now hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games. Additionally, he has reached base safely in 21 of his last 22.

15

Puig had three hits in the game — with two runs scored and two RBI — extending his career-best hitting streak to 15 games. He also has at had least one extra-base hit and one RBI in each of his last seven contests. His batting average jumped to .333 after his Friday performance.

454

Dodgers outfielder Scott Van Slyke hit a 454-foot straightaway blast in the sixth inning off Miley, one of his two hits in the game. It was the longest homer recorded at Chase Field this season. Van Slyke is 7-for-16 lifetime against Miley with four home runs.