When Zack Greinke is on his game, he’s on it. It’s the worst time to let up.
He got the start for the Houston Astros in their 8-1 win over the Athletics on Wednesday at the Coliseum, and despite Chad Pinder being familiar with him, he’s been able to read Greinke well.
“He’s pitched some really good games against us before,” Pinder said after the game. “I wouldn’t say it’s anything different as far as he was attacking us. He was lights out today. Fastball was there for him, both sides of the plate, sinker in, four-seamer. He had control of everything today and was working the corners and made some really good pitches. That’s not something we’re shocked by -- it is Zack Greinke.”
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Pinder smoked a single off of Greinke in the bottom of the second inning that had an exit velocity of 107.7 mph -- the highest of the game. And while the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner isn’t known for having a lot of velocity, he brought the heat Wednesday.
“His fastball was up to 93 today. It was crisp,” Pinder added. “When he’s locating with that, it’s a tough assignment."
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The only run the A's scored off Greinke came on a double by Sean Murphy in the second inning. They had no answer for the Astros ace over the next six innings.
Oakland Athletics
“We do got to be better, we have to be better as a group and stringing together some better at-bats, making working some pitch counts better when he does have his stuff like that, but today we couldn’t get anything going on him and he pitched a great game,” Pinder said.
“You know everything’s moving and he knows exactly where everything’s going so when a guy like him is on, we really got to bury down and grind at-bats out and today he got the better of us.”