Houston Astros right-hander Zack Greinke was perfect through five in his start Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels (GameTracker). Taylor Ward's one-out single broke up the bid and started a mini-rally for the Angels. Greinke still had a quality final line:
Saturday's game had been scoreless entering the sixth inning. Ward's single was a line drive single into left field. After that, Greinke gave up three straight hits, which led to the Angels taking a 2-0 lead. Greinke had sent down the first 16 Angels batters before giving up his first hit. Two notable Angels players were missing from the lineup on Saturday, including outfielder Mike Trout, who was with his wife as she gave birth to a son, and shortstop Andrelton Simmons (injured list, ankle).
Angels get their first hit of the game, after Zack Greinke was perfect through 5.1 innings: pic.twitter.com/5pvswvKffx
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In Saturday's start, Greinke's fastball hung between 87 and 88 mph during the game -- reaching its highest velocity at 88.7 mph in the fifth inning -- for a slight improvement from his season debut start (87.3 mph) against the Seattle Mariners on July 26. He allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two over 3 1/3 innings (58 pitches) in the loss (SEA 7, HOU 6). He didn't factor into the decision.
Greinke, 36, will be heavily leaned on this season with Justin Verlander (forearm) set to miss time. He'll likely need a few more starts to build back up his endurance, but Saturday's outing bodes well for the veteran in this abbreviated 60-game season.
