Zack Greinke was on the bump for the second game in San Diego, pitching very well through eight innings of work. Greinke struck out eight, giving up four hits and one run. The only blemish on the stat sheet of Greinke came in the first inning when the opposing pitcher Ian Kennedy doubled to knock in a run.
Greinke settled in, retiring batter after batter. One of the biggest obstacles Greinke has faced this season has been the run support from his team when making his starts. Greinke received a no decision in his bid tonight after the Dodgers dropped the game in extra innings for the second consecutive night. Greinke holds an ERA of 2.72, good for sixth in the National League. The loss was placed on Jamey Wright, giving up the eventual walk off win, falling 2-1.
The Dodgers offense mustered eight hits but only put one run across the plate. Adrian Gonzalez drove in the lone RBI of the game with a solo home run in the sixth inning, his nineteenth of the season. Gonzalez ups his RBI total to 91, leading the team. It was a woeful 0-6 night with runners in scoring position, leaving ten runners on base. Matt Kemp was the only Dodger to have a multi-hit game, going 2-4 with a double. Dee Gordon, Hanley Ramirez, and Yasiel Puig combined to go 1-15 with four strikeouts, three of those coming from Puig.
Manager Don Mattingly said he thinks some of Puig’s struggles can be placed on his emotions and maybe trying a little too hard to make the great swing. Greinke, Justin Turner, and Drew Butera each added a hit at the bottom of the lineup, but Los Angeles couldn’t put a string of hits together to drive more offense across the plate.
The Dodgers go to 76-60, sitting 2.5 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants for first place in the National League West. Hyun-Jin Ryu will make the start in the afternoon series finale on Sunday, looking to help his team avoid the series sweep. Ryu will be making his first start since coming off the DL with a strained gluteus muscle.