RADIO
Zack Greinke extended his scoreless streak to 43 2/3 innings on Sunday when he pitched eight innings in the victory over the Washington Nationals.
Greinke, 31, is now 9-2 with a 1.30 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP. The right-hander allowed three hits and a walk while striking out a season-high 11 batters to help the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the weekend series against the Nationals.
“Everything but the curveball was working today and (that) was all right,” Greinke told The Associated Press.
The scoreless streak is now the fourth longest in the history of the MLB, and 16 behind Orel Hershiser’s MLB-record 59 straight innings back in 1988. If Greinke could break the streak, it could happen over his next two or three starts.
Greinke is only three-plus innings from surpassing Bob Gibson for third on the list and 15 behind Don Drysdale for second. Sunday’s outing also meant that Greinke surpassed Dodgers teammate, Clayton Kershaw, who had a 41-inning streak last season.
It’s been a Cy Young-like season for Greinke. His 1.30 ERA leads all starting pitchers by a sizable margin. On Tuesday, he started for the National League during the All-Star game. Mike Trout delivered a home run to lead off the game. The run doesn’t count toward his scoreless streak.
On Sunday, Greinke scattered three singles, walked one and threw 119 pitches in eight innings, outdueling Nationals ace Max Scherzer.
“It’s hard to be better than this,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told The Associated Press.
With only 16 innings left, could Greinke break the streak that hasn’t been broken in almost 30 years?
