[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVBahpC9g-8]
By Jon Weisman
Good day, everyone. I’ve got a long buildup of links to share, and today’s off day provides the opportunity.
Tag: Zack Greinke (Page 4 of 9)
Zack Greinke's scoreless streak ends at 45 2/3 innings. #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/nWq49lmokf
— Jon SooHoo (@JonSooHooPics) July 26, 2015
By Jon Weisman
It was more death by paper cuts than a single crushing blow, but sadly for fans of the Dodgers and history, Zack Greinke’s consecutive scoreless inning streak ended in the third inning against the Mets today at 45 2/3 innings.
After retiring the first six hitters of the game, Greinke hit Kirk Nieuwenheis with an 0-1 fastball to start the bottom of the third. Catcher and No. 8 hitter Kevin Plawecki then lined a 1-1 fastball to center field, which — in a key moment — Joc Pederson bobbled trying to backhand for an error that allowed Nieuwenheis to reach third base with nobody out.
That was the first baserunner in scoring position against Greinke since the fourth inning July 4 (21 innings) and the first to reach third base since the first inning June 23 (37 2/3 innings)
The Dodgers played the infield in at the corners, and pitcher Jacob deGrom hit a chopper to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Gonalez fired home, but Yasmani Grandal’s tag on Nieuwenheis was a hair late.
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At first, it looked like this might invite the classic umpire reversal that benefited both Don Drysdale and Orel Hershiser in their streaks. But there was no doubt looking at a replay about the call.
Despite the error, the run was earned. Assuming that Nieuwenheis would have remained at second on the Plawecki single, you also have to assume he’d go to third base on deGrom’s grounder. Subsequent fly balls by Curtis Granderson and Ruben Tejada could have scored him. Of course, we’ll never really know what happened, but that’s how it goes down officially.
Some might blame Pederson, but my guess is that Greinke blames himself for hitting Nieuwenheis with the pitch — a mistake for a pitcher who had avoided them for so long.
Nevertheless, Greinke finishes with the sixth-longest scoreless streak of all-time:
- 59 Orel Hershiser (1988)
- 58 Don Drysdale (1968)
- 55 2/3 Walter Johnson (1913)
- 53 Jack Coombs (1910)
- 47 Bob Gibson (1968)
- 45 2/3 Zack Greinke (2015)
During Greinke’s streak, opponents had a .124 batting average, .152 on-base percentage and .144 slugging percentage — while Greinke, who singled in his first at-bat today — hit .188/.188/.188.
Soon, the spotlight will turn back to Clayton Kershaw, who now has the longest active scoreless streak in baseball at 29 innings.
As we tip our hat to Greinke, here’s a final look at the wondrous run.
A second hit-by-pitch, this striking Michael Conforto with the bases loaded, led to a second run off Greinke, who finished his day with seven innings and a 1.37 ERA on the season.
Doubles by Adrian Gonzalez and Justin Turner and a single by Yasmani Grandal tied the game for the Dodgers in the ninth, but Juan Uribe — facing the Dodgers with his second team this week — drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th.
Dodgers at Mets, 10:10 a.m.
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Justin Turner, 3B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Yasiel Puig, RF
Andre Ethier, LF
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Zack Greinke, P
Notes: The Dodgers have activated Greinke and recalled Yimi Garcia, taking the roster spots of Chih-hui Tsao and Josh Ravin, who have been optioned to Oklahoma City.
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Justin Turner, 3B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Yasiel Puig, RF
Andre Ethier, LF
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Zack Greinke, P
Notes: The Dodgers have activated Greinke and recalled Yimi Garcia, taking the roster spots of Chih-hui Tsao and Josh Ravin, who have been optioned to Oklahoma City.
By Jon Weisman
Closer and steeper. Zack Greinke can move within tantalizing range of Orel Hershiser’s all-time consecutive scoreless inning record today, if he can withstand the pressurized attention that comes with the approach.
Actually, I’m just imagining that last part. We’ll all be tense, but Greinke will probably be the most relaxed person out there today. (That includes the rest of the Dodgers, who will be facing the National League pitcher with the lowest ERA besides Greinke’s: Jacob deGrom.)
Greinke enters today’s game with his streak at 43 2/3 innings (see the inning-by-inning breakdown here). Recapping some of the highlights:
- Greinke has retired 59 of the past 64 batters he has faced.
- No runner has reached third base against Greinke since the first inning June 23 — a streak of 35 2/3 innings.
- No runner has reached second base against Greinke since the third inning July 4 — a streak of 20 innings.
Here are the targets left for Greinke:
- 43 2/3 Rube Waddell (1905)
- 44 Ed Reulbach (1908)
- 45 Sal Maglie (1950)
- 45 Doc White (1904)
- 45 Cy Young (1904)
- 45 1/3 Carl Hubbell (1933)
- 47 Bob Gibson (1968)
- 53 Jack Coombs (1910)
- 55 2/3 Walter Johnson (1913)
- 58 Don Drysdale (1968)
- 59 Orel Hershiser (1988)
Here are some links to check out before today’s game:
- Joe Posnanski tells a classic Greinke story at his website.
- A deep analytical dive on Greinke and Clayton Kershaw from Scott Spratt of Baseball Info Solutions.
- Orel Hershiser’s take, via Mark Saxon at ESPN Los Angeles: “In my whole career, I never threw the ball better than Zack Greinke. Never,” Hershiser said. “I never threw with his velocity, I never threw with his change of speeds, I never was able to execute as many pitches as he can on any given night to both sides of the plate. On any given night in my career, I haven’t ever thrown the ball better than Clayton Kershaw. These guys are just better.”
- Hershiser also spoke to Bill Plunkett of the Register. “Yeah, it’s kind of interesting that it’s come full circle, that there’s a possibility I’ll be sitting in the same chair that he (Drysdale) was sitting in during my streak,” Hershiser said. “Things have changed. It’s a completely different culture when it comes to media. It’s a different generation we’re living in.
- We’re 111 days into the regular season. Only Bob Gibson in 1968 had a lower ERA at a similar point than Greinke’s 1.30, notes David Pinto of Baseball Musings.
- Greinke is bucking conventional wisdom by reducing the difference in speed between his fastball and changeup, writes Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs.
- Yasmani Grandal’s impact on Greinke’s streak is studied by Mike Petriello at MLB.com.
New dad Zack Greinke reunites with Clayton Kershaw and Jimmy Rollins in New York today.
Dodgers at Mets, 4:10 p.m.
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Justin Turner, 1B
Andre Ethier, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Carl Crawford, LF
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Zach Lee, P
Notes: Ian Thomas was optioned to Oklahoma City to make room for Lee. Also, Adrian Gonzalez has had a stiff neck but might be able to play tonight.
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Justin Turner, 1B
Andre Ethier, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Carl Crawford, LF
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Zach Lee, P
Notes: Ian Thomas was optioned to Oklahoma City to make room for Lee. Also, Adrian Gonzalez has had a stiff neck but might be able to play tonight.
By Jon Weisman
When only moments ago, it seemed, the Dodgers couldn’t find a starting pitcher to save their lives, they might get to enjoy a bit of an overflow over the coming 10 days.
And that’s before entertaining the possibility of whom they might acquire in trade before the July 31 non-waiver deadline.
Zack Greinke has arrived in New York and is set to put his 43 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings on the line in Sunday’s game, with Brett Anderson — who had a successful bullpen session today — lined up after Monday’s off day for Tuesday’s homestand opener against Oakland.
Clayton Kershaw (29 consecutive scoreless innings) will pitch Wednesday against the A’s on five days’ rest. Then, after another off day, the Dodgers could come back with Greinke on Friday — hours after the trade deadline — against the Angels on four days’ rest.
But the Dodgers also have Mike Bolsinger, who last pitched July 22 in Atlanta, to mix in.
With yet another off day August 3, the Dodgers don’t really need a fifth starter again until August 8. By that time, if they were to still need someone, Carlos Frias could be ready to come off the disabled list, or the Dodgers could turn back to Zach Lee, Ian Thomas, Brandon Beachy or another minor-leaguer.
In any case, by August 8, the current setup might already be a distant memory.
In short, the dark times in the rotation might soon be a thing of the past. Bolsinger, Kershaw and Thomas built a bridge over the storm waters, and Lee today could finish the job.
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Dodgers at Mets, 4:10 p.m.
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Justin Turner, 3B
Scott Van Slyke, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Kiké Hernandez, LF
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Austin Barnes, C
Ian Thomas, P
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Justin Turner, 3B
Scott Van Slyke, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Kiké Hernandez, LF
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Austin Barnes, C
Ian Thomas, P
By Jon Weisman
It’ll soon be back to work for Zack Greinke.
The new dad (though not this kind of new dad) is expected to be back in New York this weekend to start for the Dodgers either Saturday or Sunday, manager Don Mattingly told reporters today.
In other starting-pitching news for the Dodgers, Brett Anderson passed all his tests today to avoid the disabled list. Mattingly indicated that the Dodgers still might give Anderson extra rest for his left Achilles tendon and delay his next start until Tuesday.
Either way, assuming Greinke has no issues with returning to the Large Apple, the Dodgers would only need to call up at most one starter for this weekend’s games against New York. Speculation is strong that Zach Lee will be that pitcher.
If so, Lee would become the Dodgers’ 14th starting pitcher this year, after Ian Thomas becomes No. 13 tonight while making his first MLB start. Not since 1964 have the Dodgers used 13 starting pitchers, and not since 1952 have they used 14. Given the possibility of a trade before the season’s over, it seems likely that the 2015 Dodgers will use more starting pitchers than any team in franchise history except the World War II-era 1944 team, which used 19.
For a while today, it appeared that both scheduled starting pitchers would be scratched because of babies being born, but even though his wife reportedly went into labor, left-hander Jon Niese remains tonight’s scheduled starting pitcher for the Mets.
Alex Guerrero is making his first start for the Dodgers since July 10. Guerrero has reached base once in his past 18 plate appearances and hasn’t homered in 61 at-bats since his game-winning grand slam June 2 in Colorado. He has a .175 on-base percentage and .180 slugging percentage in that span.
Update: Kiké Hernandez has replaced Guerrero in the lineup. Guerrero was scratched because of back stiffness.
https://twitter.com/Wilsysmommy/status/624673217119031296
Zack and Emily Greinke became proud parents of Bode Nicholas Greinke at 8:22 p.m. Thursday. Their son is listed on the family roster at 19 inches and six pounds, five ounces. The Dodgers send their happiest congratulations!
Bode is exactly six months younger than Cali Ann Kershaw, for you potential matchmakers out there.
— Jon Weisman
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
Josh Ravin has been called up by the Dodgers for the third time, taking the roster spot temporarily vacated by expectant father Zack Greinke.
Ravin has a 2.33 ERA and 1.22 WHIP with 38 strikeouts in 27 innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City this year. With the Dodgers, he has allowed five runs on 11 hits and a walk in seven innings, striking out nine.
After pitching two shutout innings in the Dodgers’ 11-inning victory June 14 over San Diego (the day Joc Pederson made his catch at the wall of Justin Upton’s drive), Ravin allowed runs in three consecutive appearances. He last pitched for Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
Greinke can be on the paternity list for a maximum of three days. Ian Thomas is starting today for the Dodgers, who haven’t announced their Saturday or Sunday starters.
By Jon Weisman
Originally scheduled to start for the Dodgers on Friday, Zack Greinke left the team early this morning to be with his wife for the imminent birth of their first child, for which we send our very best wishes.
At this particular moment in time, it’s unclear who will be the starting pitcher for the Dodgers in each of their next three games in New York after tonight.
Greinke could conceivably (pun not intended but welcomed) return to the Dodgers before their series against the Mets is over.
Brett Anderson worked out today without his walking boot, throwing and doing agility drills, and is almost certain to avoid the disabled list, but whether he pitches Sunday remains undecided — especially if that’s the day Greinke is able to rejoin the team.
(No one asked me, but with Sunday’s game being the end of a cross-country road trip, the sensible thing might just be to let Greinke rest at home with his newborn and take the mound for the next homestand opener Tuesday against Oakland. Of course, these aren’t necessarily sensible times, and I can understand wanting a guy with 43 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings to get out there as soon as possible.)
Anderson said he will throw a bullpen session Friday that will help determine whether he is able to take his turn Sunday on four days’ rest.
Whatever happens with those two, the Dodgers still need a starter at least for Friday. Ian Thomas, called up to be the long man out of the bullpen, might be one candidate. The Dodgers will also add a pitcher Friday, when Greinke is officially on paternity leave (maximum of three days).
Carlos Frias is scheduled for a rehab start for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Sunday, and is not a candidate to start for the Dodgers this weekend. Relief pitcher Chris Hatcher, by the way, will also make a rehab appearance for Rancho on Friday.
This will all sort itself out soon enough, but for now, it’s a whirlwind.
By Jon Weisman
The newest National League Player of the Week Award only covers the three days of regular-season play after the All-Star Break (July 17-19), and it was hard to be more dominant during those 72 hours than Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw were.
- Kershaw: eight innings, no runs, three hits, no walks, 14 strikeouts (0 for 4 at the plate)
- Greinke: eight innings, no runs, three hits, one walk, 11 strikeouts (1 for 3 at the plate)
Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw have faced 168 batters in July. Wilmer Flores of the Mets has the only RBI.
— Jon Weisman (@jonweisman) July 19, 2015
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
000 000 000 000 000 000 00^ 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 00 – 0
“Oxygen! We need oxygen here!”
The indomitable Zack Greinke put another eight zeroes on his opponents’ scoreboard today in the Dodgers’ 5-0 victory at Washington, extending his streak of consecutive innings without allowing a run to 43 2/3.
Passing the 41-inning streak that Clayton Kershaw had last year, Greinke’s scoreless inning streak is now the third-longest in Los Angeles Dodger history, behind Orel Hershiser’s MLB-record 59 and Don Drysdale’s 58. It’s also the longest streak in the Majors since Hershiser. Bob Gibson (47 innings in 1968) is the only pitcher since 1961 with a longer streak than Greinke’s, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Greinke and Kershaw have combined to pitch 47 innings in July and have allowed one run. That’s a 0.19 ERA.
What else? How much time you got?
- Greinke lowered his 2015 ERA from 1.39 to 1.30.
- He ran his streak of consecutive batters retired to 28 in a row — encompassing a hidden perfect game — before allowing a third-inning single to Michael Taylor (whom Greinke soon picked off).
- Bryce Harper’s walk in the fourth was the first allowed by Greinke pitcher in 22 innings.
- In striking out a season-high 11 today, Greinke has 42 strikeouts and four walks during his scoreless streak.
- Greinke has retired 59 of the past 64 batters he has faced.
- No runner has reached third base against Greinke since the first inning June 23 — a streak of 35 2/3 innings.
- No runner has reached second base against Greinke since the third inning July 4 — a streak of 20 innings.
Opponents are batting .129 (19 for 147) with a .158 on-base percentage and .150 slugging percentage during Greinke’s 43 2/3-inning scoreless streak, which is detailed right here.
Greinke needed virtually every bit of his excellence today, because the Dodgers couldn’t drive in a run against Max Scherzer for six innings today. However, thanks to Andre Ethier’s leadoff double in the fourth, the first sacrifice of Yasmani Grandal’s professional career and then, of all things, a Scherzer wild pitch, the Dodgers scratched across what they needed to put Greinke ahead.
Dodgers at Nationals, 10:35 a.m.
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Andre Ethier, LF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Yasiel Puig, RF
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Zack Greinke, P
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Andre Ethier, LF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Yasiel Puig, RF
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Zack Greinke, P
By Jon Weisman
Hopefully, Zack Greinke’s Florida roots will come in handy today, because this is gonna be a steamy one.
Greinke has thrown 35 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings and retired 36 of his past 37 batters, but those numbers will be challenged not only by Bryce Harper and the Washington Nationals, but also by the triple digit heat index in Washington D.C. during today’s game.
Facing fellow All-Star righty Max Scherzer in today’s primo pitching matchup, Greinke would need six scoreless innings to move pass Clayton Kershaw for third place on the Los Angeles Dodgers all-time streak list, behind (as if I need to tell you) Orel Hershiser and Don Drysdale.
Here are some other pregame notes:
- Carl Crawford will rejoin the Dodgers in Atlanta on Monday, with his activation from the disabled list imminent. Don Mattingly told reporters today that figuring out how to create a roster spot for Crawford is not an easy decision. Counting Alex Guerrero and Kiké Hernandez, Crawford’s return would give Los Angeles a surplus of seven outfielders, pending the next roster move. Alberto Callaspo could be vulnerable, though he is the team’s only infielder off the bench that can bat from the left side.
- How did Clayton Kershaw strike out Harper three times Saturday? According to Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles, in conversation with Don Mattingly after the game, “Kershaw attacked Harper’s weaknesses by elevating hard fastballs just enough to get him to swing and getting into counts in which he could use either breaking ball to devastating effect.”
- Brandon Beachy’s second start after his second Tommy John surgery will take place Monday at his first MLB home, Atlanta — but Beachy is trying not to think about that, he told J.P. Hoornstra of the Daily News.
Mike Bolsinger has 69 strikeouts in 73 innings this year. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
By Jon Weisman
The Dodgers have decided to give Clayton Kershaw an extra day of rest after the All-Star Game after all, meaning that Mike Bolsinger will take the hill on Friday at Washington, with Kershaw on Saturday and Zack Greinke still going Sunday.
Bolsinger went six innings on July 10, allowing two runs on five baserunners while striking out six, in his longest start since June 8. He will pitch Friday on six days’ rest.
Kershaw’s start on Saturday will be on three days’ rest after throwing 22 pitches at the All-Star Game, and nine days’ rest since his last regular season start. Greinke will be on four days’ rest after his 39 pitches at the All-Star Game.
Washington is scheduled to go with Jordan Zimmermann on Friday, Doug Fister on Saturday and Max Scherzer on Sunday.
By Jon Weisman
Like Eric Gagne with his streak of consecutive saves heading into the 2003 All-Star Game, Zack Greinke brought a streak of scoreless innings into the 2015 All-Star Game. And like Gagne, Greinke’s streak will continue despite an exhibition interruption.
Leadoff batter Mike Trout lined Greinke’s 1-2 fastball the opposite way into the right-field seats tonight, scoring the first run off Greinke in any setting since June 13.
Greinke walked the next batter, Josh Donaldson, on a full-count fastball. But he retired the next six batters he faced, striking out four (Albert Pujols, Nelson Cruz, Adam Jones and Salvador Perez), with Lorenzo Cain popping out to end the first inning and Jose Altuve grounding out to end the second.
According to Fox Sports, he is the first All-Star pitcher to strike out four since Pedro Martinez in 1999, and the first NL pitcher to do it since Lee Smith in 1987. The Dodgers’ Fernando Valenzuela, of course, famously struck out five in a row in 1986.
Zack Greinke, moments before the All-Star Game (Getty Images)
The right-hander finished with 39 pitches, 25 for strikes. He will likely take four days off before returning Sunday, if the Dodgers follow through on their plan to separate Greinke and Clayton Kershaw in the starting rotation. (Pending what happens tonight, Kershaw — who hasn’t made a start since his July 8 shutout — is likely to pitch Friday in the opening of the second half at Washington.)
In two previous All-Star appearances, Greinke retired all six batters he faced, so for his All-Star career, he has now retired 12 of 14 batters, striking out eight.
Funnily enough, Greinke allowed a run in his first inning of the 2015 regular season, April 7 against San Diego. He allowed no other runs in that game, and only 18 earned runs in his next 17 starts.
Trout entered the game with a single, double and triple in seven career at-bats, so the home run gave the young outfielder a theoretical career cycle against Greinke, as well as an All-Star career cycle.
Mike Trout led off his first ASG with a single, second with a double, third with a triple and fourth with a homer. The natural ASG cycle.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 15, 2015
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
Though he never seems to change, Zack Greinke is actually changing all the time.
For one thing, it used to be that finding a smile on Greinke’s face in public was as rare as spotting Bigfoot. But the reality is that Greinke smiles pretty often these days. In Dodger photographer Jon SooHoo’s photos this year, there has been a steady stream of shots of a grinning Greinke.
And you know those smiles aren’t phony, because the one constant with Greinke is that nothing is.
By Jon Weisman
Thanks to the best first-half ERA by a starting pitcher in decades, Zack Greinke will be the Dodgers’ first All-Star Game starting pitcher since Brad Penny in 2006, MLB announced today.
Greinke has two previous innings of All-Star experience, both perfect. In 2009, representing Kansas City, he got Raul Ibanez to pop out, then struck out David Wright and Shane Victorino, using a total of 10 pitches in the inning. Last year, it was a virtual repeat on 12 pitches: a Jose Bautista groundout, followed by Nelson Cruz and Adam Jones strikeouts.
To sum up, that’s six All-Stars faced and six All-Stars retired on 22 pitches, 17 for strikes.
Matt Vasgersian to Zack Greinke at press conference: "Zack, you want to say a few words?"
Zack: "Nah …"
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) July 13, 2015
Greinke, whose 1.39 ERA before the All-Star Break is the lowest for a pitcher with at least 100 innings since 1968, will combine with Joc Pederson to give the Dodgers two All-Star starters for the first time since Hideo Nomo and Mike Piazza in 1995 — also the most recent year the Dodgers had five players on the roster.
Pederson is playing left field and batting eighth, manager Bruce Bochy announced today.
Pederson’s All-Star week is scheduled to begin with tonight’s Home Run Derby at 5 p.m. Pacific. However, as of this writing, there is a thunderstorm watch for this evening in Cincinnati.
Greinke will face Mike Trout, Josh Donaldson and Albert Pujols in the first inning Tuesday. Here are those batters histories with Greinke:
- Trout: 3 for 7 (double, triple), one strikeout, 1.286 OPS
- Donaldson: 1 for 3, .667 OPS
- Pujols: 10 for 29 (five doubles, four walks), three strikeouts, .929 OPS
