PHOENIX (AP) - Zack Greinke shut down the Cincinnati Reds - and picked up the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Greinke threw seven scoreless innings and Paul Goldschmidt hit his 20th homer in the Diamondbacks’ 6-3 victory Friday night.
Arizona rebounded from a 5-4 loss in Los Angeles a night earlier when closer Fernando Rodney blew a three-run lead in the ninth. The Dodgers won all three games by one run.
“On a night when we were maybe a little down and smarting after a tough series in LA, we had a guy step up in Zack Greinke,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “He was the right guy for us at the right moment. … He had the weight of 24 guys on his shoulders and carried them.”
Greinke (11-4) allowed four hits, struck out seven and walked one - and even singled in a run. The right-hander struck out Jose Peraza to end the seventh with runners on the corners.
“It felt like it was a big win,” Greinke said. “It was a bad series in LA. … We played close, but just didn’t get any wins. It is nice to get a win so you can have some positive thoughts again.”
He’s 9-0 at home, and the Diamondbacks are 33-13 - matching their victory total from last season.
Drawing a loud mixed reaction from the crowd when he entered the game, Rodney got Tucker Barnhart to ground out to second for his 22nd save.
“These athletes, what they want to do after a performance where they maybe didn’t have their absolute best is to get out there as quick as possible and turn the page,” Lovullo said.
Joey Votto and Scott Schebler homered in the ninth for Cincinnati. Votto hit a two-run shot - his 25th - with no outs off T.J. McFarland, and Schebler connected off Jake Barrett with two outs. Barrett was returning from shoulder problems that knocked him out of spring training.
“We had the ability to score runs as we saw there late in the game. We hit some homers, put the barrel on the ball,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “We didn’t do much with Greinke. We didn’t have a lot of balls that were hard hit.”
Goldschmidt homered to right-center off Tim Adleman (5-6) in the fifth to make it 4-0. The Arizona slugger tied Jake Lamb for the team lead in homers and RBIs (67).
“Honestly, I don’t think we felt like we need to turn the page or do anything different,” Goldschmidt said. “Whether you are winning or losing the day before it doesn’t carry over.”
Adleman allowed four runs - three earned - and six hits in five innings.
Arizona added two runs in the seventh off Blake Wood. David Peralta had an RBI double, stole third and scored when catcher Barnhart’s throw sailed past third.
Brandon Drury and Jeff Mathis had RBI doubles in the second to give Arizona 2-0 lead. Greinke was hit by a pitch in the inning, then helped himself in the fourth with a two-out RBI single up the middle.
BIG REDS SIGNING
Hunter Greene, the high school right-hander drafted second overall by Cincinnati, agreed to a minor league contract Friday with a $7.23 million signing bonus - the highest since constraints on draft spending began in 2012. Reached just before the 5 p.m. EDT deadline, the deal topped the $7,005,000 signing bonus Tampa Bay agreed to last week with No. 4 pick Brendan McKay. Greene’s bonus is the highest ever for a high school pitcher. He also played shortstop at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California. Greene will begin his professional career with Billings, Montana, in the Pioneer League.
WINTER IS(N’T) COMING
It was Game of Thrones Night at Chase Field after Phoenix set a record for the date at 118 degrees. It was 113 outside and 85 inside the closed stadium at the 6:40 p.m. start.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: Left-hander Brandon Finnegan had surgery Friday after tearing the labrum in his right shoulder in an off-field fall. Finnegan has been on the disabled list since June 28 because of a left shoulder problem.
Diamondbacks: Arizona placed right-hander Rubby De La Rosa on the 10-day disabled list because of right shoulder inflammation, and recalled Barrett from Triple-A Reno.
UP NEXT
Reds: Luis Castillo (0-1, 4.41) is coming off a loss at Colorado on Monday night.
Diamondbacks: Taijuan Walker (6-3, 3.30) also last pitched against Colorado, striking out eight in seven innings Sunday in a no-decision in a home victory. There will be a three-inning Alumni Game in the afternoon.
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