Arizona manager Torey Lovullo asked his team for a strong finish before the All-Star break.
Zack Greinke set the example.
Greinke added another road win to his strong first half by allowing only four hits in 7 2/3 innings Adidas Nico Hischier Jersey , extending Atlanta’s offensive slump, and the Diamondbacks shut out the Braves 3-0 on Saturday.
”He was fantastic,” Lovullo said. ”Our guy, our All-Star goes out there and pitches into the eighth inning and really was in control every inning.”
Greinke (10-5), named to the NL All-Star team on Thursday as a replacement for Chicago’s Jon Lester, has won five straight decisions. The 34-year-old right-hander has been especially strong away from home, winning five straight road starts since June 8.
Greinke had seven strikeouts, did not walk a batter and allowed no more than one baserunner in any inning.
Even though he has not lost since June 13 against Pittsburgh, Greinke said he felt stronger than in other games, including his last start against San Diego.
”It felt good from the get-go,” Greinke said. ”Way different from the last game. … My fastball was really good today. That kind of made all the other pitches better.”
Ketel Marte hit a sixth-inning homer for Arizona, which has won the first two games of the three-game series and has matched its 2017 team record of 53 wins before the All-Star break. The Diamondbacks began the day one-half game behind the first-place Dodgers in the NL West.
”I’ve asked these guys openly to make sure they come out and play good baseball before the break and coming out of the break,” Lovullo said. ”It’s very important to us. I’m proud of them. They’re executing and playing good baseball. That’s the bottom line.”
The Braves, who have lost eight of 10, remained 1 1/2 games behind Philadelphia in the NL East.
An offensive slump is a big reason Atlanta fell out of first place this week after holding at least a share of the division lead since May 31. The Braves have scored no more than two runs in six of their last nine games.
”You know you’re going to go through this,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker. ”We went a long time without experiencing it. We’re in a rut here, but you look up and we’re still in the thick of it. We’re still close.”
Brad Boxberger pitched around a one-out single by Nick Markakis in the ninth for his 24th save.
Braves left-hander Sean Newcomb, who didn’t walk more than three batters in any of his five June starts, has had renewed control problems in July. Newcomb (8-5) walked three of Arizona’s first four batters, setting up Steven Souza Jr.’s bases-loaded single to left field.
Newcomb allowed three runs on four hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. He has issued 12 walks in three starts this month.
Newcomb threw 36 pitches in the long first inning. He regrouped to record 10 straight outs after Souza’s single before Chris Owings singled with two outs in the fourth and scored on a double off the left-field wall by Jeff Mathis.
Marte’s homer gave Arizona a 3-0 lead and knocked Newcomb out of the game.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino was placed on the 10-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation for the second time in four weeks. The surprise move was made shortly before the game after Vizcaino said he was unavailable to pitch. ”It’s concerning, very much so I think,” Snitker said. RHP Peter Moylan was reinstated from the 10-day DL.
BRADLEY’S HOLDS
Arizona’s Archie Bradley earned his 26th hold of the season, the most in the majors before the All-Star break since 1969, when holds became an official statistic, according to the Diamondbacks. Pittsburgh’s Mark Melancon also had 25 holds before the break in 2013.
LOOKING AHEAD
Braves LHP Max Fried, on the 10-day DL with a left middle finger blister, is an option to start on July 24 at Miami if LHP Luiz Gohara is not yet sufficiently stretched out at Triple-A Gwinnett. The Braves need help in their rotation with RHP Brandon McCarthy (right knee tendinitis) and RHP Mike Soroka (right shoulder inflammation) on the DL.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: LHP Patrick Corbin (6-3 patrick mahomes authentic jersey , 3.09) has a 1.54 ERA in his last four starts since June 22.
Braves: RHP Julio Teheran (6-6, 4.47) is 3-1 with a 3.15 ERA in seven career starts against Arizona. He did not face the Diamondbacks in 2017.
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Visceral blowback to the NFL’s updated rule that players can’t lead with their helmets to make contact is straight out of tough-guy football 101. Hard-hitting defensive backs say the league is destroying the physical element of the game or lament that it’s changing the sport entirely.
“Do they want us to play flag football?” Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard said. “It’s crazy.”
Beyond the criticism from old-school players bristling at another rule change or point of emphasis is legitimate confusion as to how the enhanced regulations will actually be enforced. No longer can a player initiate contact with his head anywhere on an opponent’s body, penalized 15 yards or possibly by ejection in egregious cases, and players and coaches — offensive guys, too — are bracing for how it will be applied.
“You just hope it’s not called as frequently, because if they are going to call it on every single offensive and defensive lineman, the game is going to be played at a snail’s pace,” 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman said. “It seems like they are neglecting the impact it is going to have on the game, and I don’t think they fully understand the scope and how huge it will be.”
Contact to a player’s head and neck has been a penalty for some time now, but this rule was ramped up to take it a step further. A ball carrier or an offensive lineman can’t lower his head into a defender, and a defensive player can’t make any part of his helmet the primary point of contact when attempting to tackle.
It’s similar to the NCAA rule that has been in place since 2013, though at the college level, “targeting” carries an automatic ejection, reviewable by replay. The league estimated that just two plays last season would’ve led to an ejection under the new rule that’s forcing players to adjust their approaches.
“It’s really hard to change the way you’ve been playing after 20 years,” Cowboys safety Jeff Heath said. “You’re not always thinking about where you’re hitting somebody. You’re just trying to get them down. As soon as you start thinking, and second-guessing yourself, I think that’s when trouble happens. Hopefully it does the job in keeping players safe but doesn’t result in a lot of ejections.”
As the NFL alters this rule and another to kickoffs in the name of safety, some players are willing to accept the reasons for changes. Denver’s three-time All-Pro linebacker Von Miller said, “They’ve put in rules to take care of all the players, as well, so I’m good with all the rule changes.”
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said he used to fight the evolution of football “like an old dog,” but has come to accept changes in the name of doing the right thing for players. He expects there to be a wide application of the enhanced helmet rule and doesn’t consider it such a bad thing.
“I think it’s across the board because it can happen multiple times on any play, where guys use the top of their helmet,” Carroll said. “We’re just getting out of it. It’s really about going back to really good shoulder-leverage play.”
That’s how Josh Norman feels about it. The Washington Redskins cornerback knows he has accidentally made helmet contact with opponents, but as a player not known for those plays considers this a reminder about sound fundamentals.
“Head up, bowed neck, tackle with your facemask Authentic Daniel Sedin Jersey ,” Norman said. “It’s not with the crown of your head. Obviously injuries come. People get paralyzed like that. Nobody should play like that.”
To get the message across, coaches Anthony Lynn of the Chargers, Doug Marrone of the Jaguars, Dan Quinn of the Falcons, Mike Vrabel of the Titans and Todd Bowles of the Jets each narrated a clip-by-clip video illustrating how the enhanced rule affects a different position group: running backs , offensive linemen , defensive linemen , linebackers and defensive backs . Hall of Fame running back Curtis Martin and linebackers Willie Lanier , also a Hall of Famer, and Willie McGinest taped minute-long videos explaining to players the importance of stance posture and technique to avoid unnecessary head contact.
In the first test of the heightened emphasis on head contact, Baltimore linebackers Patrick Onwuasor and Kamalei Correa were each flagged for 15-yard penalties in the Hall of Fame game that opened the preseason. Watching that gave Denver coach Vance Joseph a glimpse of what effect the helmet rule will have, pointing out it’s not just on players to adjust.
“Coaching that part, in my opinion, is going to be the tough part — not the defenders,” Joseph said. “That’s been taught and that’s been coached for a long time, with the offensive guys using their stiff arm and putting the ball in the proper hand, using their shoulders versus their head. It’s going to take teaching.”
It’s going to take some trial and error in games for players and officials to realize how it will actually be called. Veteran Bills linebacker Lorenzo Alexander figures it could happen somewhere on the field on any play, so he and his teammates will try to toe the line between watching out for it and not thinking so much that it proves costly.
“You can’t really change your mindset,” Buffalo safety Micah Hyde said. “That’s when you start playing passive, and you start giving up stuff. I don’t know, it’s kind of hard to explain, it’s kind of when your ankle’s hurt, you tape it, you’re thinking about it, and then you might hurt something else. It’s the same along those lines, you ca
