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Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks dump Atlanta Braves

By Alan Robinson, The Sports Xchange
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zack Greinke delivers a pitch. File photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zack Greinke delivers a pitch. File photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

PHOENIX -- The Arizona Diamondbacks almost always know what they are getting from Zack Greinke, and they got it again. Now they can only hope they will keep getting results from a newly reinforced lineup.

Greinke remained unbeaten at home this season with a strong eight-inning outing, and J.D. Martinez hit his first homer with Arizona, leading the Diamondbacks past the Atlanta Braves 10-2 Monday night.

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A.J. Pollock added two doubles and a two-run homer, his fifth, while driving in four runs for Arizona, which had dropped two in a row and 11 of 15.

However, the Diamondbacks didn't have Martinez during that stretch, and Pollock missed about half the season with a groin injury. Now, manager Torey Lovullo finally has the kind of batting order he wanted.

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"It's a fun lineup -- you look up there and there's a lot of guys who can get on," Pollock said. "That puts pressure on the other team, the pitchers get a little uncomfortable. If we get everybody clicking, it's going to be pretty scary."

As Greinke is on the Chase Field mound. Greinke (12-4) improved to 10-0 with a 2.39 ERA in 12 starts in his home ballpark, limiting the Braves to pinch hitter Sean Rodriguez's two-run homer in the fifth and retiring the final 10 batters he faced.

"He mixes it up, changes speed, keeps the ball down and he's hard to get a hold of, as evidenced by his numbers," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "He's tough."

Greinke scattered five hits while striking out six and walking none. He also contributed a run-scoring double and two sacrifice bunts at the plate.

"I was throwing a lot of strikes early on," Greinke said. "The goal is to keep doing what you're doing. It's definitely happened before where you feel really good starting but you lose it a little bit. You've got to stay focused and keep making pitches."

Martinez, playing his first full game for the Diamondbacks since being acquired July 18 from the Detroit Tigers, powered a three-run shot in the sixth to boost the lead to 8-2. It was his 17th homer of the season overall.

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Martinez started for the first time since being struck in the left hand by a pitch in his first game with Arizona on Wednesday.

"Everybody's excited when you're traded, you kind of want to get here and show everybody why you're here, what you can do," said Martinez, who admittedly was excited by homering in his first Arizona home game.

Pollock is enthused, too.

"He has a great swing, it looks like he's about to do damage on every pitch," Pollock said. "We're happy we have him."

Atlanta, getting its shortest start of the season from R.A. Dickey (6-7), lost its third in a row and sixth in eight games. The Braves swept Arizona in a three-game series at Atlanta immediately after the All-Star break.

The first pitching matchup between former Cy Young Award winners Greinke and Dickey didn't last long.

The knuckleball-throwing Dickey was wild from the start -- hitting a batter and walking another in just the first three plate appearances. He allowed four runs, walked five, gave up five hits and threw four wild pitches in 3 2/3 innings. The Braves threw six wild pitches altogether.

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"I was fighting things out there," Dickey said. "(The knuckleball) was moving well, but the umpire was struggling with it, Tyler (Flowers, the catcher) was struggling with it, I was struggling to throw strikes."

Dickey's wildness showed up in the second.

After Dickey walked Daniel Descalso and Jeff Mathis singled a batter later, Greinke lined a double to left field -- his sixth hit of the season -- to score Descalso.

David Peralta popped up, but Pollock doubled to left to score two more runs.

The Diamondbacks chased Dickey in the fourth when Mathis singled again, moved up on Greinke's sacrifice bunt and the first of Dickey's two wild pitches in the inning and scored on Peralta's single.

"I had the stuff to get us past the fourth inning. It quite embarrassing when you can't get your club into the sixth inning, seventh," Dickey said. "I take that seriously."

The Braves finally got to Greinke in the fifth when Rodriguez -- batting .071 -- hit a two-run homer into the left field seats following Johan Camargo's two-out double. Rodriguez's homer was his first since he needed major shoulder surgery following a serious car accident last winter, and his first in the majors as a pinch hitter.

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Rodriguez had been 1-for-14 since being activated July 17 following rotator cuff surgery that required months of recovery.

NOTES: The Braves traded LHP Jaime Garcia (4-7, 4.30 ERA) and C Anthony Recker to the Minnesota Twins for 19-year-old pitching prospect Huascar Ynoa. Garcia was scheduled to start Wednesday. RHP Aaron Blair, acquired from Arizona in a December 2015 trade, is expected to be called up from Triple-A Gwinnett to replace him. ... Braves All-Star OF Ender Inciarte was given a day off, only his second in 98 games. ... Diamondbacks C Jeff Mathis, who came in hitting .196, went 3-for-4 with a walk and scored twice. ... Arizona CF A.J. Pollock is 11-for-22 (.500) with four doubles, two triples, two homers, nine runs and six RBIs in his past five games.

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