By Jon Weisman
No, you don’t exactly expect Zack Greinke to go into hysterics over pitching in the deciding game of a playoff series.
Confirmed.
“I just try to keep it as simple as possible,” Greinke said this afternoon, about 25 1/2 hours before the start of National League Division Series Game 5. “I mean, sometimes it’s not possible, but that’s what you try — that’s what the goal is.”
During his first postseason, in 2011 with Milwaukee, Greinke had a 6.48 ERA in three starts covering 16 2/3 innings. But as a Dodger, Greinke has a 2.06 ERA in five playoff starts, covering 35 innings, with 32 strikeouts. He has never pitched less than six innings nor allowed more than two runs, including seven innings of two-run ball against the Mets Saturday in Game 2.
Of course, any run that Greinke allows Thursday could be painful, especially if the Dodgers don’t have a lead first. Greinke discussed facing the Mets for a second time in five days, and the fact that he has thrown fewer fastballs to them than he has to other teams.
“I feel like, in general, lefties hit fastballs from right-handed pitchers better than right-handers hit fastballs from right-handed pitchers,” Greinke said. “So if you look at how I pitched (the Mets) last time, I threw more fastballs to their righties and less fastballs to their lefties. And they had more lefties on (their team). So it ends up being more off-speed to that team because of the amount of lefties they have.
“But, you’ve got to probably make somewhat of an adjustment, because you can’t just keep doing the same thing to a team, or else they’ll make the adjustment and get a couple runs and it will be too late. So I have to find a way to mix more fastballs in against them this next time probably.”
Today, Greinke was asked to reflect on his experience pitching for the Dodgers. It’s no secret that Greinke can opt out of his Dodger contract at the end of the season to become a free agent, so with every playoff start he is asked about it possibly being his last in Los Angeles (though I prefer to think, here in mid-October 2015, that we’re still just getting started).
“I haven’t thought about it too much, but everything’s been great so far,” he said. “I really can’t think of anything not positive to say about the whole experience. It’s all been good.”
Note: For a deep dive into Greinke, read Steve Wulf’s story at ESPN.com.
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