Greinke again rules on road as Diamondbacks shut out Braves
ATLANTA — Arizona manager Torey Lovullo asked his team for a strong finish before the AllStar break.
Zack Greinke set the example. Greinke added another road win to his strong first half by allowing only four hits in 7 2/3 innings, extending Atlanta’s offensive slump, and the Diamondbacks shut out the Braves 3-0 on Saturday.
“He was fantastic,” Lovullo said. “Our guy, our All-Star goes out there and pitches into the eighth inning and really was in control every inning.”
Greinke (10-5), named to the NL All-Star team on Thursday as a replacement for Chicago’s Jon Lester, has won five straight decisions. The 34-year-old righthander has been especially strong away from home, winning five straight road starts since June 8.
Greinke had seven strikeouts, did not walk a batter and allowed no more than one baserunner in any inning.
Even though he has not lost since June 13 against Pittsburgh, Greinke said he felt stronger than in other games, including his last start against San Diego.
“It felt good from the get-go,” Greinke said. “Way different from the last game . ... My fastball was really good today. That kind of made all the other pitches better.”
Ketel Marte hit a sixth-inning homer for Arizona, which has won the first two games of the three-game series and has matched its 2017 team record of 53 wins before the All-Star break. The Diamondbacks began the day one-half game behind the first-place Dodgers in the NL West.
“I’ve asked these guys openly to make sure they come out and play good baseball before the break and coming out of the break,” Lovullo said. “It’s very important to us. I’m proud of them. They’re executing and playing good baseball. That’s the bottom line.”
The Braves, who have lost eight of 10, remained 1½ games behind Philadelphia in the NL East.
An offensive slump is a big reason Atlanta fell out of first place this week after holding at least a share of the division lead since May 31. The Braves have scored no more than two runs in six of their last nine games.