Zack Greinke dominates, Diamondbacks beat Reds 6-3

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Joey Votto hasn’t just had the a good first half of the 2017 season, he’s had quite possibly the best first half of his storied career. And while Zack Greinke kept both Votto - this time - and the rest of the Cincinnati Reds offense in check for most of the evening, Votto did manage to club his NL-best 25th dinger before the night was finished.

Joey Votto, good at baseball. Really, really, ridiculously good at baseball.

Honorable Mentions are due to: Adam Duvall, who singled and doubled off Greinke; Scott Schebler, who doinked his 22nd chuckwagon of the season; and you few folks who stayed up late enough to watch this one in its entirety.

Key Plays

• RBI doubles from both Brandon Drury and Jeff Mathis got Arizona on the board in the Bottom of the 2nd off Tim Adleman, leaving the Reds behind early, 2-0.
• Greinke himself added to Adleman’s ledger in the Bottom of the 4th, singling to drive in Drury once again. Reds trailed, 3-0.
• If there’s a 1B in baseball who should be considered anywhere near the tier in which Joey Votto resides, it’s Paul Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt, to his credit, launched an oppo-dinger off Adleman in the Bottom of the 5th, and that left Arizona ahead 4-0.
• Arizona played add-on in the Bottom of the 7th against Blake Wood, adding a pair of runs that seemed to effectively put this game on ice. However, Votto’s dinger off T.J. McFarland in the Top of the 9th kept the Reds from being shutout, as did the solo shot Schebler cranked off reliever Jake Barrett later in the inning. However, the rally fell short, and Cincinnati lost, 6-3.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• Remember when Brandon Finnegan was likely lost for the season with his second major shoulder injury of the year? Well, it turns out he’s suffered his third major shoulder injury of the year, and is officially out for the rest of the season due it and the surgery/recovery necessary. Cripes.
• Hunter Greene officially signed with the Reds today, though, so all pain and anguish should be kicked down the road for at least a day or four.
• Saturday’s matchup between the Diamondbacks and Reds will feature both Taijuan Walker and Luis Castillo on the mound, so have a mid-day nap and be ready for the 10:10 PM ET start time, would ya?
• Tunes.