RADIO
Zack Greinke’s scoreless streak came to an end in the third inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers' game against the New York Mets on Sunday.
The starting pitcher’s scoreless streak ended at 45 2/3 innings, which was 13 1/3 shy of the MLB record held by Oral Hershiser. Greinke’s streak finished as the fourth longest of all time and the longest since Hershiser’s 59 during the 1988 season.
The run came off a fielder’s choice by opposing pitcher Jacob deGrom. Kirk Niuwenhuis was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Kevin Plawecki looped a single in the outfield but Niuwenhuis advanced to third because the Dodgers’ Joc Pederson couldn’t handle the ball. DeGrom came to the plate and hit a slow moving ball to first base, which led to a play at the plate but Niuwenhuis was safe thus ending the scoreless streak.
Greinke was scheduled to start on Friday but was scratched because he went home to be with wife while she was giving birth to their baby. He allowed two runs but did not earn the loss because the game went to extra innings. Greinke told MLB.com that sitting out a few extra days between starts with the scoreless streak intact did not matter.
"Surprisingly, it wasn't as distracting as you'd think flying back and forth cross country," he told MLB.com "I felt strong today. I would maybe complain, but I started off really well and got worse. You'd think if it bothered me, I would have started off bad and get better."
Greinke knows how hard it is to break one of the biggest streaks in MLB history. He also thinks it could happen eventually since pitchers are getting closer and closer.
"Five years ago I thought that one and Joe DiMaggio's [56-game hitting streak] were the two toughest," Greinke said. "It looks like people are getting closer to the Hershiser one."
The ace’s ERA slightly increased to 1.37 (MLB best) while his WHIP is now at 0.83 and he now owns a 120/24 K/BB ratio over 138 1/3 innings.
