Greinke is tough on his old team
A former mainstay of Dodgers keeps them at bay and gets a hit before decisive run.
PHOENIX — The shock of his departure faded months ago, but Monday offered the Dodgers an in-person encounter with Zack Greinke for the first time in 2016.
He wore the oddly styled uniform of the Diamondbacks, with splotches of red on the shoulders and ankles, and he toiled for a team already drifting away from playoff contention. But on this night, in a 3-2 Dodgers defeat, he reminded his former club of his work. Across seven innings of two-run baseball, he sidestepped the Dodgers’ attempts at an offensive revival and extended their losing streak to three games.
Justin Turner tagged Greinke with a run-scoring double in the first. Corey Seager supplied a solo home
run in the fifth. Otherwise, Greinke avoided danger. He struck out six, scattered seven hits and contributed to the go-ahead run against Dodgers starter Mike Bolsinger. The Diamondbacks whacked a pair of home runs against Bolsinger, then manufactured the winning rally after Greinke’s single in the fifth.
After Greinke departed, an opportunity arose in the eighth. Diamondbacks reliever Daniel Hudson walked the bases loaded with one out. Into the fire came sidearmer Brad Ziegler. He fanned Enrique Hernandez with ease. Howie Kendrick hit a sinking line drive that center fielder Michael Bourn dived to snag.
The pitching matchup posed a question: Why was Greinke, the prize of last winter’s free-agent class, pitching for Arizona? And why were the Dodgers (3332), owners of the sport’s largest payroll, relying on a swingman like Bolsinger?
The Diamondbacks capitalized on the Dodgers’ restraint in December and overwhelmed Greinke with a six-year, $206-million offer. The Dodgers regrouped and accumulated assets to fortify the 40-man roster. A slew of injuries forced Bolsinger into the rotation.
Neither Greinke nor the Diamondbacks have flourished this season. Arizona sat nine games below .500 heading into Monday. Greinke lugged a 3.84 earned-run average into the game, the product of a torturous April. His performance had improved across his previous eight starts, including a shutout of Tampa Bay in his last start.
The matchup granted his former teammates a chance to take stock of his absence. His departure surprised many in the group. Yasmani Grandal found a silver lining.
“I was just glad he didn’t go to San Francisco,” Grandal said.
Grandal suggested the Dodgers did not particularly miss Greinke, despite his excellence on the mound. The starting rotation carried into the game a collective 3.48 ERA, which ranked sixth in baseball. The 1.52 ERA of Clayton Kershaw propped up the group, but Grandal insisted the team’s largest issue resided with the offense.
“I feel like our pitching has really carried us through the whole season,” Grandal said. “I feel like it’s just a matter of time. It’s a ticking time bomb — as soon as the offense goes, I don’t think there’s any team in this league that can compete with us.”
The Dodgers showed signs of life in the first inning. After a one-out single by Seager, Turner bashed a 92mph fastball off the centerfield wall. Seager raced home on the double.
Arizona delivered a swift answer. Bolsinger hung a slider to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. He battered the mistake over the wall in center. Two innings later, Bolsinger fed third baseman Jake Lamb a curveball over the middle. Lamb gave his club the lead with a blast to left.
Seager knotted the score in the fifth. He pounced on a slider on the inner half of the plate for his 15th homer of the season. Trusting Bolsinger to maintain the deadlock proved foolhardy.
Bolsinger lived on the edge for the duration of his outing. Not the edge of the strike zone — the edge of disaster. He served up a series of well-struck outs, with his outfielders repeatedly ranging back to the warning track. Even Greinke smacked a pair of drives, including a single in the fifth inning.
The hit by Greinke enlivened the crowd and led to Arizona’s reclaiming the lead. After shortstop Nick Ahmed hit into a fielder’s choice, he swiped second base when Bolsinger bounced a curveball in the dirt. Second baseman Jean Segura ripped a single to put the Diamondbacks in front.
In the sixth, Greinke stranded Joc Pederson after a one-out double. He yielded a leadoff single to Kendrick in the seventh, which prompted Arizona Manager Chip Hale to visit the mound. Looming were Seager and Turner, who had damaged Greinke all evening.
Greinke lobbied to stay in the game. Hale stuck with him. Seager hit a harmless fly ball to left. Turner chased a low changeup to strike out. Greinke put his head down as he headed to the home dugout, an ace on a losing team, but a winner for an evening.