Dodgers News: Zack Greinke Reflects On Outing, Offensive Struggles
Thursday’s game turned into a pitcher’s duel between Zack Greinke and Anthony Ranaudo, with the Los Angeles Dodgers coming away with a 1-0 victory on a walk-off balk. The Dodgers’ lack of offensive support has been evident and with the continued struggles at the plate, a win in to snap a three-game losing streak with the San Francisco Giants looming could be a turning point.
While the Dodgers struggled with the bat, Greinke continued his dominant success in what’s shaping up to be another All-Star season. After allowing only four hits and zero runs in seven innings pitched, the right-hander lowered his ERA to 1.81.
Although Greinke has not received a win in his last eight starts, it’s something he brushed aside after an eight-strikeout outing against the Texas Rangers. “I don’t really think about it like that I guess,” he said. “I feel we are a good team and by the end of the year things are going to work out.”
The Dodgers’ ongoing struggles to provide run support has largely been to blame Greinke’s inability to pick up a personal win. In his last six starts, the National League leader in innings pitched this season has only received more than two runs of support once.
However, when asked if any pressure to constantly put zeroes has taken a toll, Greinke said it’s not something he can afford to be mindful of. “No I don’t think about it like that,” he said. “Whenever I do, bad things start happening, so you just kind of keep going to the normal stuff.”
The Dodgers continually relied on Greinke as he has proven to be the temporary ace of the staff while Clayton Kershaw worked to get back to his MVP form. Out side of a start against Colorado in which Greinke allowed five earned runs, the 2014 Gold Glove winner has not allowed more than two earned runs in his last nine starts.
He believes Thursday’s outing was the latest in a string of three strong outings now, even though his personal record may not indicate as much.
[divide]Kiké Hernandez On Walk-Off Balk
