Greinke has fifth consecutive scoreless start
LOS ANGELES -- Zack Greinke made his case to start for the National League in the 2015 All-Star Game presented by T-Mobile as he fired his fifth consecutive start without allowing a run in a 6-0 win over the Phillies on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.
Greinke threw eight innings, allowing just one hit, and extended his scoreless streak to 35 2/3 innings. Greinke has not allowed a run since June 13. Yasiel Puig drove in four runs to provide the offensive punch for Los Angeles and finished 2-for-4 with a double and a home run.
"They've got a little bit of a younger club that probably didn't prepare like a veteran club did," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said of the Phillies. "They chased the changeup, they chased the ball down and they just pounded that into the ground. Older clubs make him get the ball up."
Severino Gonzalez (3-3) had his longest start of the season, 5 2/3 innings, but was still stuck with the loss for the Phillies. The rookie allowed four runs on five hits, while walking two and striking out three.
"It was all Greinke," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "He's the whole package. He's more impressive than the guy [Clayton Kershaw] last night. He had all his pitches working for him. He had command, location and velocity and he makes it look easy at times. There's plenty of good pitchers in the league. He's right at the top of my list."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Scoreless streak continues: Greinke was masterful all night, extending his Major League-leading scoreless streak to 35 2/3 innings. He allowed just one baserunner, in the second inning on a Ryan Howard single. Greinke retired the last 21 hitters he faced. Mattingly said that Greinke would've stayed in the game if the score had held at 4-0, but after Puig hit a two-run homer in the eighth, he opted to give reliever Joel Peralta an inning. More >
"Yeah I did [want to finish the game]," Greinke said. "But it didn't hurt my feelings to not go out there."
Video: PHI@LAD: Greinke fans Galvis to end the 8th
Two-out rally: The Dodgers offense had yet to show a pulse against Gonzalez, but the pitcher helped out Los Angeles in the fourth. With two outs, Gonzalez walked Yasmani Grandal on four pitches, then hit Andre Ethier was an 0-2 fastball. That brought up Puig, who ripped a two-run double down the left-field line to get the Dodgers on the board.
Video: PHI@LAD: Puig opens scoring with two-run double
Gonzalez's troubling trend continues: Entering his seventh start of the season, Gonzalez had held opponents to a .591 OPS the first time through the lineup, while opponents had posted a 1.343 OPS the second time through. That trend continued against the Dodgers. Gonzalez cruised the first time through the Dodgers' lineup, retiring eight of the first nine batters he faced, but the Dodgers scored four runs against him in his final 2 2/3 innings. More >
"I was trying to make sure that what I've been told -- keep the ball down -- I was trying to concentrate on that the whole game," Gonzalez said. "Just making sure the pitches were down. In the past I got hurt with pitches up. I went in with the mindset to come into this game and make sure I could keep the pitches down."
Gonzalez goes deep: Gonzalez, the pitcher, hung a curveball to Adrian Gonzalez, the hitter, in the sixth inning and Adrian took it off the foul pole in right field for his 17th home run of the season. It's the fourth home run in the last seven games for Gonzalez and gave the Dodgers more than enough cushion for Greinke.
Video: PHI@LAD: Adrian pads Dodgers' lead with two-run shot
QUOTABLE
"I think what's frustrating about Greinke is I think a lot of hitters, they see it good. And then when you go to swing it just moves off your barrel. That's what makes him tough. I think he knows that, too. He kind of feeds off the hitters, off their aggression. I think he's good at reading hitters and feeding off it. If you're trying to see some pitches, if you're trying to be aggressive, he kind of knows how to attack you." -- Phillies left fielder Cody Asche
"I thought he was really good. He was really on the attack, kept the pitch count down, got ahead in the count and basically did his thing tonight." -- Mattingly
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Greinke is the sixth pitcher in the live-ball era to have a streak of five consecutive scoreless starts, most recently accomplished by Ryan Dempster in 2012, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
WHAT'S NEXT
Phillies: Phillies ace Cole Hamels makes his final start before the All-Star break in Friday night's series opener against the Giants at AT&T Park at 10:15 p.m. ET. Hamels is 5-6 with a 3.02 ERA in 17 starts, but he has pitched better recently, posting a 2.42 ERA in his last four starts.
Dodgers: The Dodgers finish the first half of the season, and a 10-game homestand, with a three-game set against the Brewers. Mike Bolsinger (4-3, 3.09 ERA) takes the mound for 7:10 PT start, looking for his first win since June 8. He has a 4.54 ERA in his last eight starts, compared to a 0.71 mark in his first four outings.
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