Dodgers Roll Past Zack Greinke, D-backs For 10-2 Home Win

Zack Greinke had a rough homecoming at Dodger Stadium on Monday night.

Dodgers Roll Past Zack Greinke, D-backs For 10-2 Home Win

The Arizona right-hander was booed by fans in his first at-bat against his former team. Then, the Los Angeles Dodgers blasted Greinke (12-5) for a career-worst five home runs in his first road start against them to cruise to a thunderous, 10-2 victory over the Diamondbacks.

“I feel I should be getting outs better than I am,” Greinke, 32, said. “I am not consistent right now, a couple of bad outings.”

The former Dodgers ace allowed eight runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings and struck out six. He hadn’t allowed a homer in his previous three starts.

Greinke rejected the Dodgers as a free agent last December, when he signed a $206.5 million, six-year deal with the D-backs after winning 51 games and compiling a 2.30 ERA from 2013-2015 as part of a 1-2 punch with pitcher Clayton Kershaw in Los Angeles.

Greinke took a one-hit shoutout into the fourth inning, although things quickly changed after that. A leadoff double by Corey Seager was followed by a two-run homer from Adrian Gonzalez. Joc Pederson, Seager, Justin Turner, and Yasmani Grandal then all went deep one frame later to definitively end Greinke’s night with Arizona trailing, 8-0.

“The fourth inning was still really good,” Greinke said. “The last inning wasn’t as sharp. I made a really bad pitch to Joc. And then [Kenta] Maeda got not one of the better hits, but then after that I got hit hard the rest of the way. Good at-bats.”

Maeda, meanwhile, had a terrific night to help the Dodgers secure the win. The Japanese right-hander allowed one run on three hits while striking out eight in 6 1/3 innings. He lost his shutout bid in the seventh and turned the game over to the bullpen with one out and Los Angeles holding an 8-1 lead.

“Kenta threw the ball great,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think you could see with those hitters and their approach, sitting soft. He was effective with his fastball tonight and locating it inside, outside. Kept those guys guessing and made his slider that much more effective. We tried to get through that seventh inning, but he gave us a great, great effort. Something we really needed.”

Seager, who finished a triple short of the cycle, tied Turner for the team lead in home runs at 24 with his three-run shot in the fifth. However, Turner scored his 25th homer shortly afterwards. Grandal, who entered the game one long ball behind the two infielders, kept it close with his 24th two batters later.

“Greinke’s really good. Obviously he’s been one of the best pitchers for a while,” Seager said. “It’s one of those things that kind of locks you in a little more. You have to be on your game. We battled, we took some good pitches, we got into counts that were more in our favor and we put some good swings on balls.”

With the win, the Dodgers bumped their lead in the National League West to a season-high four games over the Giants, who lost 6-0 at Colorado. They have won four of five.

The five homers allowed by Greinke not only were a career-high, but also matched the most home runs ever given up by an Arizona starter. Right-hander Casey Daigel allowed five homers to the Cardinals on April 9, 2004 at Chase Field.

The two teams will face off again for the middle game of their three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night. Right-hander Shelby Miller will make his second start for the D-backs (58-79, 4th in NL West) since spending more than six weeks with Triple-A Reno.

Righty Ross Stripling will take the mound for the Dodgers (77-60, 1st in NL West)

LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 05: Zack Greinke #21 of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitches to the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium on September 5, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena