Nats' Harper on Dodgers' Greinke: 'I don't think he was very tough'
Los Angeles Dodgers starter Zack Greinke shut out the Washington Nationals for eight innings on Sunday, extending his scoreless innings streak to 43 2/3 innings while striking out 11 in the Dodgers' 5-0 win. But don't ask Nats All-Star outfielder Bryce Harper for a testimonial.
"For me, I don't think he was very tough," Harper said, as reported by the Washington Post. "He's a great pitcher. He does what he does. But when you're getting six inches off the plate, it's tough to face him."
Harper obviously didn't care for the strike zone as interpreted by plate umpire Bill Miller. He complained to Miller on the way back to the dugout after striking out in the seventh inning, his second whiff of the game.
However, the Post article showed graphics from mlb.com's Gameday tracker that indicated Miller was indeed generous.
But Miller also apparently is consistent. A site that tracks umpires has calculated that Miller calls more strikes on pitches outside the official strike zone than any other ump in the majors.
So, yeah, Harper may be right. But he still sounded more than a bit whiny.
