Greinke takes no-hitter into 7th, Diamondbacks beat Nats 5-0
WASHINGTON (AP) — Zack Greinke doesn't think much about no-hitters.
He was in the minority Thursday night when he took a bid into the seventh inning as the Arizona Diamondbacks cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Washington Nationals.
Greinke (8-2) tossed 7 1/3 innings, leaving after a 63-minute rain delay. The right-hander struck out three without a walk.
"It wasn't meant to be," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. "Either way you look at it. We were going to shut him down through that rain delay. But it was really fun to watch while it was going on."
Alex Avila and Jarrod Dyson homered for Arizona, which has won seven of eight.
Greinke had faced the minimum when Trea Turner led off the seventh with a grounder between first and second. First baseman Christian Walker made a diving stop but was unable to get off a throw against the speedy Turner, who legged out an infield single.
"I thought it was going to be tough to get there in time anyway," Greinke said. "Tough throw even if he did throw with how fast Turner is."
Adam Eaton followed with a single but Anthony Rendon grounded into a double play and Juan Soto grounded out.
Greinke retired the first 10 Nationals before hitting Eaton in the foot with a pitch. Rendon followed with a liner back to Greinke, who doubled Eaton off first.
"He's locked in," Lovullo said of Greinke, who has 13 1/3 scoreless innings in his past two starts. "This is my third year with him and when he gets on these rolls you just sit back and get out of the way."
The 35-year-old ace has never thrown a no-hitter in the majors. He took one into the eighth inning against Pittsburgh in 2017 but lost it on Gregory Polanco's homer.
Greinke pitched a one-hit shutout in 2009 against Seattle.
"I don't really think about (no-hitters) that much. I just assume I'll never throw one," he said, later adding: "Just probably be more hassle than anything."
The last Diamondbacks pitcher to throw a no-hitter was Edwin Jackson on June 25, 2010, against Tampa Bay.
Greinke improved to 6-1 with a 1.27 ERA in nine career starts against the Nationals.
"Do you try to be aggressive off a guy who is doing exactly what he wants to, or do you try to be patient? I don't know," Turner said. "I guess do the opposite of whatever we did today, because he was pretty good."
Washington starter Erick Fedde (1-1) allowed five runs and six hits over six innings.
The Nationals, fourth in the NL East, began an 11-game homestand that includes series against the division-rival Phillies and Braves.
Avila's solo homer made it 3-0 in the second and Dyson hit a two-run shot off Fedde in the fourth.
STREAK ENDED
Rendon went 0 for 3, ending his on-base streak at 27 games.
GO EAST, YOUNG MEN
The Diamondbacks are 14-3 in games played in the Eastern time zone this season.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Diamondbacks: Avila strained his left calf and exited in the eighth inning. "It will cost me some time," he said. "Got to get an MRI and see how bad it is." . 1B-3B Jake Lamb (strained left quadriceps) was 1 for 4 with two runs Wednesday for Triple-A Reno. Lamb is 3 for 9 with two walks and three runs in the first three games of his rehabilitation assignment.
Nationals: Manager Dave Martinez said RHP Koda Glover (right forearm strain) has been shut down for six weeks after experiencing pain and receiving a PRP injection. ... 1B Ryan Zimmerman (plantar fasciitis) has begun running on a treadmill, one of his final hurdles before going on a rehab assignment. ... 1B Matt Adams (left oblique strain), who missed Tuesday's game, took batting practice before this one.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray (5-3, 3.54) is 0-4 with a 6.26 ERA in five career starts against the Nationals.
Nationals: RHP Max Scherzer (4-5, 2.83) has a 0.67 ERA with 39 strikeouts, five walks, zero home runs allowed and a .198 opponents' batting average over his past four starts.
