Houston Astros can still trust Zack Greinke this postseason
The blockbuster trade the Houston Astros pulled off before the trade deadline brought Zack Greinke to bolster an already strong rotation.
The Houston Astros and everyone else have seen Zack Greinke as the third ‘ace’ for the team. Someone they can run out behind Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole to put the proverbial nail in the coffin.
Unfortunately for Greinke, this postseason has been anything but that. He has struggled in his playoff starts. It’s not as if he wasn’t brilliant from the moment he joined the Astros from the Arizona Diamondbacks, because he was.
Since joining the ‘Stros he went 8-1 in 10 starts with a 3.02 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings pitched. With those numbers it was hard to see him get just shelled against the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS. He only had the one start, but only pitched 3 2/3 innings, giving up six earned runs and three home runs.
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That equaled his shortest start of the regular season, which was opening day against the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 31st. He gave up 7 earned runs on 3 home runs. You may think this is a bad sign, but I take it as a good one.
The reason why is Greinke knows how to bounce back. He is human and a pitcher in Major League Baseball, which means there are going to be bad games, bad outings. These guys aren’t perfect all the time. It’s how you bounce back that makes all the difference.
He has pitched infinitely better in the ALCS. In Game 1 he simply didn’t get any run support when he went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs. In Game 4 last night he didn’t pitch deep into the game, only going 4 1/3 innings because of his pitch count, but he left with the lead and his team provided the rest.
The other reason they can trust Greinke is because of the other guys in that starting rotation. Verlander and Cole make it so he can have a bad and the team is still right in the middle, if not leading every single series.
His pitching may have not shown it quite yet, but Greinke will be a major factor if the team reaches the World Series and has to face the three-headed monster the Washington Nationals have in Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin.
Bombs away for the Astros. dark. Next
I for one am rooting for that matchup because I love good pitching duels and that series would provide it every single night!