Editorials

Dodgers News: Don Mattingly Explains Why Zack Greinke Pitched In 8th Inning

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Behind strong pitching and an all-around team effort, the Los Angeles Dodgers have taken the first two of a three-game set against the San Francisco Giants. Tuesday night’s matchup featured a pitchers duel between two Cy Young candidates in Madison Bumgarner and Zack Greinke, with the latter coming on top with the victory.

With the Dodgers leading 2-0, Greinke came back out to start the eighth inning despite being at 106 pitches. The right-hander’s longest outing of the season came on July 19 when he threw 119 pitches in an eight-inning gem against the Washington Nationals.



Dodgers manager Don Mattingly explained the decision to leave Greinke in the game was tied to the pitcher’s confidence. “He said he felt great. I could tell in his voice that he felt good,” Mattingly said.

“He said his ankle [bothered] him a little bit because the hole [on the mound] was getting too big.” Mattingly added. “he’s pretty honest with you. Usually if he’s done, he’s done or ‘I’ve had enough’ or ‘I’m running out of gas,’ but he said he felt good.”

After retiring the first batter of inning, Greinke gave up three straight hits, with the final of the three scoring a run to cut the Dodgers’ lead to 2-1. His night ended there as Mattingly brought the hook and called on Luis Avilan, who got help from Jose Peraza for the start of an impressive inning-ending double play.

Greinke finished with 114 pitches in 7.1 innings of work, making the start the 17th he’s tossed at least seven frames in an outing this season, and fifth time he’s thrown more than than 110 pitches.

Earlier in the year Greinke discussed placing an emphasis on going deep into games, explaining he doesn’t focus on that for fear of negative results.

[divide]

Staff Writer

Staff Writer features content written by our site editors along with our staff of contributing writers. Thank you for your readership.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button