Sedona Red Recap: Greinke dominant as D-backs pound Indians
Apr 8, 2017, 10:29 PM | Updated: Apr 9, 2017, 4:59 pm
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zack Greinke throws in the seventh inning during a baseball game against the Cleveland Indians, Saturday, April 8, 2017, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
PHOENIX – It was an early pitchers’ duel on Saturday night between Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke and former D-backs first round pick and current Cleveland Indians starter Trevor Bauer.
This was Bauer’s season debut against his former club, and he did not disappoint in a strong outing. However, it didn’t last against Greinke and the D-backs’ offense.
Greinke’s pitching paired with the team’s bats waking up late in the game again gave the D-backs a series win against the reigning American League champs by a score of 11-2.
Greinke went 6.2 innings, giving up one earned run and five hits. He struck out six and didn’t walk any batters.
This was the type of performance many fans have been waiting to see from him and an encouraging sign for this pitching staff that has been in need of a dominant ace that could provide quality starts.
In his second career start against the club that drafted him third overall in 2011, Bauer went 5.2 innings, giving up four earned runs by way of seven hits. He struck out seven, and like his counterpart, did not walk any batters.
The difference maker in this game was a huge sixth inning by the D-backs, which was kicked off by a frustrated David Peralta taking out yet another bad Angel Hernandez call on the foul pole with a solo home run.
The inning kept rolling with a Paul Goldschmidt double followed by an outright theft of third base by Goldy. He was later driven in by a Yasmany Tomas triple.
Tomas went 3-for-4 with a pair of singles and a RBI triple. He now owns a lifetime .332 batting average against left-handed pitchers, which is the fourth best average for a National League player since 2015.
The sixth inning continued with four total runs coming across the plate that blew the game wide open.
The D-backs added on six runs in the bottom of the eighth to secure the victory and move on to a 5-1 record on the season.
THE GOOD
Brandon Drury continued his career-high hitting streak, which is now at 10 games dating back to 2016.
Drury went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, and he now has a season batting average of .526 in 15 at-bats.
The team’s batting average for the night was .322 with fifteen hits.
THE BAD
Greinke went 0-for-3 at the dish? I don’t really know. I’m new at this and I can’t find any bad in an 11-2 win against the defending American League champions.
STAT OF THE GAME
Batting 1,000 – Jeremy Hazelbaker (1.000) is the first player since Ramon Hernandez did it in 2006 for the Orioles to reach safely in his first eight plate appearances.
HE SAID IT
Torey Lovullo on Greinke’s performance “I think Zack set the tone for us tonight. We built our day around him and his outing. His command of all of his pitches was outstanding. He worked into the seventh inning. He threw 106, 107 pitches. For me, he was in total command of his outing.”
NOTED
With a first-pitch temperature of 86 degrees at 5:10 p.m., the game was played with both the roof and panels open.
Our very own Vince Marotta threw out the first pitch. He did not make us look bad.
The Diamondbacks had three players with three hits tonight, Tomas, Drury, and Hazelbaker. The trio combined for six runs scored and three RBI on the night.
Greinke moves to 1-0 on the season with a 2.31 ERA in 11.2 innings pitched.
UP NEXT
The D-backs look to sweep the series against Cleveland with their final game on Sunday at home before setting off on a 10-game NL West road trip starting in San Francisco on Monday. They will face the Giants, Dodgers, and Padres before returning home on April 21.
On Sunday, the D-backs will send lefty Patrick Corbin to the mound to face off against RHP ace Corey Kluber for the Indians. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 40 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
Corbin is 0-1 in 2017 with a 4.50 ERA in 4.0 innings pitched. He has never faced the Indians.
Kluber, meanwhile, has faced the D-backs one time during the regular season, giving up no runs on four hits and eight strikeouts.
Kluber had an amazing season in 2016, finishing with an 18-9 record, 3.14 ERA, & 1.06 WHIP. He was a key component in Cleveland’s rotation and their run to the World Series.
This is the final meeting between these two teams for 2017…unless they meet in the World Series.
Overall, the D-backs are 9-9 all-time against the Indians.
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