Greinke dazzles with 3-hit shutout vs. Rays

June 8th, 2016

PHOENIX -- Zack Greinke continues to look more and more like the ace the D-backs hoped he would be. The right-handed starter tossed his first shutout since 2013 on Tuesday night at Chase Field in a 5-0 win over the Rays.
Greinke (8-3) limited Tampa Bay to three hits in just his second shutout since 2009 and his third complete game since 2010. He won for the fifth straight start and has pitched 16 consecutive scoreless innings, a season-long for a D-backs pitcher. Jake Lamb hit a three-run homer and Paul Goldschmidt added a two-run blast to provide Arizona's offense.
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"He's been rolling; he did a nice job tonight, obviously efficient," D-backs manager Chip Hale said of Greinke. "Just the same sort of deal he's been pitching: off-speed, down, and using his defense."

Rays starter Matt Moore (2-4) pitched seven innings, matching a season high for the third time. However, he was tagged with his first loss since May 3, allowing all five runs on seven hits. Tampa Bay had a four-game winning streak snapped.
"We got beat by a really good pitcher that was on, changing speeds, and he made it very difficult," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "I like the way the guys came up and continued to attack. I don't think we had very many punchouts. We competed well. He was on and you tip your cap a little bit."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Lamb takes lefty deep: Lamb entered Tuesday with a .118 average against left-handed pitching, as opposed to hitting .299 against right-handers. But he got the start at third base against Moore, whom lefties were hitting .311 against entering Tuesday. Lamb blasted his 11th home run of the season with two outs in the fourth, an opposite-field, three-run shot that put Arizona ahead, 3-0.

"It's an ongoing process," Lamb said. "I'm working, I want to be in there every single day, righty or lefty. And obviously I know the numbers and the struggles so far this season, but hopefully this is a step in the right direction."
Mahtook on the mark: D-backs shortstop Nick Ahmed tested the Rays' outfield one too many times in the fifth inning. With one out and the D-backs ahead, 3-0, Ahmed stretched a single to left field into a double when he challenged the arm of Rays left fielder Corey Dickerson. The Arizona infielder then tried to test right fielder Mikie Mahtook when the next hitter, Jean Segura, flied out to Mahtook for the second out of the frame. Mahtook proceeded to throw Ahmed out at third base to end the inning.

"Tremendous throw," Cash said. "It's one of those do-or-die [plays] where you kind of avoid the cutoff man and try to get it there all the way, and he did."

Feeling more at home: Greinke struggled at Chase Field early in the season, posting just one quality start in his first five outings there. Because of that, he entered Tuesday with a 6.54 ERA in his first seven starts at his new home ballpark. However, the right-handed ace won his third straight home outing with his second quality start in that stretch.
"I thought I'd been pitching pretty good after the first game of the year," Greinke said. "There was a couple times where I was making some mistakes throughout the game, but it seemed to be a lot of times when guys were on base. The last probably four or five starts when I've got in trouble, I'm still making good pitches."
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Goldschmidt moved into third place on the D-backs' all-time RBI list. He has driven in 449 career runs, passing Miguel Montero (448). The Arizona first baseman trails Luis Gonzalez (774) and Steve Finley (479).

HALE GETS TOSSED
Hale was ejected in the fourth inning for arguing after Brandon Drury struck out swinging. The third strike, a swing-and-miss, was initially called a foul tip by home-plate umpire Mark Ripperger. But after the umpires huddled, it was ruled a strikeout. Hale argued for a lengthy period of time before getting tossed by Ripperger. It was Hale's first ejection of the season and his third since becoming D-backs manager at the beginning of 2015.
"I know 100 percent it hit the dirt," Hale said. "Now here's the issue, they can't review these plays. We know from our review people, we also know because the TVs that are underneath that the players when they're warming up in the cages can see, that the ball definitely hit the dirt."

QUOTABLE
"Well, I wasn't out there. I didn't disagree with it from my office. I could've ran out there and told one of the players to tell them not to, but no, he had plenty of pitches and he's honest." -- Hale, on whether there was any chance Greinke wasn't coming out for the ninth

WHAT'S NEXT
Rays:Jake Odorizzi will take the mound in the 3:40 p.m. ET series finale against the D-backs on Wednesday at Chase Field. The right-hander threw a career-high 120 pitches in a no-decision against the Twins in his last outing. He has allowed two runs or fewer in his last four starts and has two consecutive quality starts. Overall, he is 5-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 12 career Interleague starts.
D-backs:Archie Bradley looks to continue his recent success on the mound in the series finale against the Rays on Wednesday at 12:40 MST at Chase Field. Bradley has looked much improved in two starts since his promotion from Triple-A Reno on May 27, going 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 19 strikeouts.
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