Heat Waved
Fansided

Diamondbacks: Greinke Drops Game One

By Brendan Kennealy

Mar 4, 2016; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zack Greinke (21) throws in the first inning during a spring training game against the Oakland Athletics at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2016; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zack Greinke (21) throws in the first inning during a spring training game against the Oakland Athletics at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Arizona Diamondbacks returned to Chase Field for game one of their home-stand, but dropped a 4-2 contest to the San Francisco Giants with Zack Greinke on the mound.

Greinke lost his first career start to the San Francisco Giants on Thursday night when he was out-dueled by new Giant pitcher Johnny Cueto. Greinke signed a $206.5 million deal in the offseason with the Diamondbacks, while Cueto signed a $130 million deal with the Giants. Cueto has produced at a much better level than Greinke in the early going.

Cueto improved his record to 5-1 on the season following a seven-inning outing in which he gave up just two runs and eight hits, while striking out nine Diamondbacks. Meanwhile, Greinke fell to 3-3 on the season as he gave up four runs over six innings. Greinke saw his ERA raise to 5.26 over his first eight starts. In five starts at Chase Field this season Greinke has a 1-3 record with a 7.28 ERA.

The Diamondbacks raced out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a Brandon Drury RBI single, but the lead was short lived. The Giants struck for two runs in the top of the fourth with an RBI single by Brandon Belt and an RBI fielder’s choice by Hunter Pence. Joe Panik then added a two-run home run in the top of the fifth to extend the lead to 4-1.

More from Heat Waved

Arizona rallied back in the bottom of the sixth when Chris Owings knocked in a run on an RBI triple, but the Diamondbacks were unable to knock Owings in as they stranded him at third base.

Santiago Casilla loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs before Bruce Bochy relieved his closer and put in Javier Lopez, a left-handed relief pitching specialist, to face Jake Lamb. Lopez completed his task with ease as he got Lamb to ground out to end the ball game. Lopez has inheirited 11 base runners on the season and has not allowed any of the 11 men to score.

With the loss Arizona fell to 17-20 on the season and two games back of the first place Giants, who are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Diamondbacks are a lackluster 5-13 at home, while sporting a12-7 road record.

Next: Diamondbacks Take 2 of 3 from COL

Jeff Samardzija (4-2, 3.17) will take the ball for the Giants in game two of the series, while Shelby Miller (1-3, 7.36) will start for the Diamondbacks. First pitch will be at 6:40 p.m. and you can catch the game on Fox Sports Arizona.

Home/Arizona Diamondbacks