Greinke remains unbeaten at home as Diamondbacks pound Braves
The Sports Xchange
Jul 25, 2017
PHOENIX -- Zack Greinke remained unbeaten at home this season with a strong eight-inning outing and J.D. Martinez hit his first homer with Arizona, leading the Diamondbacks past the Atlanta Braves 10-2 Monday night.
A.J. Pollock added a pair of doubles and a two-run homer in the seventh, his fifth, while driving in four runs for Arizona, which had dropped two in a row and 11 of 15.
Greinke (12-4) improved to 10-0 with a 2.39 ERA in 12 starts at Chase Field, limiting the Braves to pinch-hitter Sean Rodriguez's two-run homer in the fifth and retiring the final 10 batters he faced.
Greinke scattered four other hits while striking out six and walking none, and contributed a run-scoring double and two sacrifice bunts at the plate.
Martinez, playing his first full game for the Diamondbacks since being acquired July 18 from the Detroit Tigers, powered a three-run shot in the sixth with Arizona already up 5-2, his 17th of the season.
Martinez was starting for the first time since being struck in the left hand by a pitch in his first game with Arizona on Wednesday.
Atlanta, getting its shortest start of the season from knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (6-7) lost its third in a row and sixth in eight games. The Braves swept Arizona in a three-game series in Atlanta immediately after the All-Star break.
The first pitching matchup between former Cy Young Award winners Greinke and Dickey didn't last long.
Dickey was wild from the start -- hitting a batter and walking another in just the first three batters. He walked five, hit a batter, gave up five hits and threw four wild pitches in 3 2/3 innings.
Dickey's wildness showed up in the second.
After Dickey walked Daniel Descalso and Jeff Mathis singled a batter later, Greinke lined a double to left field -- his sixth hit of the season -- to score Descalso.
David Peralta popped up, but Pollock doubled to left to score two more runs.
The Diamondbacks chased Dickey in the fourth when Mathis singled again, moved up on Greinke's sacrifice bunt and the first of Dickey's two wild pitches in the inning and scored on Peralta's single.
The Braves finally got to Greinke in the fifth when Rodriguez -- batting .071 -- hit a two-run homer into the left-field seats following Johan Camargo's two-out double. Rodriguez's homer was his first since needing major shoulder surgery following a serious car accident last winter, and his first in the majors as a pinch-hitter.
Rodriguez had been 1-for-14 since being activated July 17 following rotator cuff surgery that required months of recovery.
NOTES: The Braves traded LHP Jaime Garcia (4-7, 4.30) and C Anthony Recker to the Minnesota Twins for 19-year-old pitching prospect Huascar Ynoa. Garcia was scheduled to start Wednesday. RHP Aaron Blair, acquired from Arizona in a December 2015 trade, is expected to be called up from Triple-A Gwinnett to replace him. ... Braves All-Star OF Ender Inciarte was given a day off, only his second in 98 games. ... Diamondbacks C Jeff Mathis, who came in hitting .196, went 3-for-4 with a walk and scored twice. ... Arizona CF A.J. Pollock is 11-for-22 (.500) with four doubles, two triples, two homers, nine runs scored and six RBIs in his last five games.
Jul 25, 2017
PHOENIX -- Zack Greinke remained unbeaten at home this season with a strong eight-inning outing and J.D. Martinez hit his first homer with Arizona, leading the Diamondbacks past the Atlanta Braves 10-2 Monday night.
A.J. Pollock added a pair of doubles and a two-run homer in the seventh, his fifth, while driving in four runs for Arizona, which had dropped two in a row and 11 of 15.
Greinke (12-4) improved to 10-0 with a 2.39 ERA in 12 starts at Chase Field, limiting the Braves to pinch-hitter Sean Rodriguez's two-run homer in the fifth and retiring the final 10 batters he faced.
Greinke scattered four other hits while striking out six and walking none, and contributed a run-scoring double and two sacrifice bunts at the plate.
Martinez, playing his first full game for the Diamondbacks since being acquired July 18 from the Detroit Tigers, powered a three-run shot in the sixth with Arizona already up 5-2, his 17th of the season.
Martinez was starting for the first time since being struck in the left hand by a pitch in his first game with Arizona on Wednesday.
Atlanta, getting its shortest start of the season from knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (6-7) lost its third in a row and sixth in eight games. The Braves swept Arizona in a three-game series in Atlanta immediately after the All-Star break.
The first pitching matchup between former Cy Young Award winners Greinke and Dickey didn't last long.
Dickey was wild from the start -- hitting a batter and walking another in just the first three batters. He walked five, hit a batter, gave up five hits and threw four wild pitches in 3 2/3 innings.
Dickey's wildness showed up in the second.
After Dickey walked Daniel Descalso and Jeff Mathis singled a batter later, Greinke lined a double to left field -- his sixth hit of the season -- to score Descalso.
David Peralta popped up, but Pollock doubled to left to score two more runs.
The Diamondbacks chased Dickey in the fourth when Mathis singled again, moved up on Greinke's sacrifice bunt and the first of Dickey's two wild pitches in the inning and scored on Peralta's single.
The Braves finally got to Greinke in the fifth when Rodriguez -- batting .071 -- hit a two-run homer into the left-field seats following Johan Camargo's two-out double. Rodriguez's homer was his first since needing major shoulder surgery following a serious car accident last winter, and his first in the majors as a pinch-hitter.
Rodriguez had been 1-for-14 since being activated July 17 following rotator cuff surgery that required months of recovery.
NOTES: The Braves traded LHP Jaime Garcia (4-7, 4.30) and C Anthony Recker to the Minnesota Twins for 19-year-old pitching prospect Huascar Ynoa. Garcia was scheduled to start Wednesday. RHP Aaron Blair, acquired from Arizona in a December 2015 trade, is expected to be called up from Triple-A Gwinnett to replace him. ... Braves All-Star OF Ender Inciarte was given a day off, only his second in 98 games. ... Diamondbacks C Jeff Mathis, who came in hitting .196, went 3-for-4 with a walk and scored twice. ... Arizona CF A.J. Pollock is 11-for-22 (.500) with four doubles, two triples, two homers, nine runs scored and six RBIs in his last five games.
