Astros' Greinke holds up 2 fingers, then allows HR on slider
Houston pitcher Zack Greinke’ held up two fingers toward Oakland’s Ramón Laureano and Astros catcher Martín Maldonado in the second inning of their AL Division Series Game 4, and Laureano hit a hanging slider 440 feet to left for a tiebreaking three-run homer
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Houston pitcher Zack Greinke' held up two fingers toward Oakland s Ramón Laureano and Astros catcher Martín Maldonado in the second inning of their AL Division Series Game 4 on Thursday, and Laureano hit a hanging slider 440 feet to left for a tiebreaking three-run homer.
Could Greinke have been signaling his pitch?
Greinke has at times used a hand signal to switch sign sets mid-inning with Laureano.
Laureano entered 3 for 22 in the postseason but didn't seem concerned about facing Greinke.
“We know all of the pitches. It just another guy on the mound," Laureano said before the game. "Go out there and hopefully we have the best performance we have ever had.”
It is the first postseason homer Greinke allowed since last year's Game 7 of the World Series against Washington, when Anthony Rendon's solo shot began the Nationals' comeback.
Greinke was announced as the Game 4 starter by manager Dusty Baker about three hours before the scheduled first pitch.
The 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner is Houston's most experienced starter but has been dealing with arm soreness. Greinke, who turns 37 on Oct. 21, threw off flat ground after Tuesday's game and told Baker Thursday morning he was ready to go.
Houston was a win away from reaching the AL Championship Series for the fourth straight year.
“He had to hear from the doctor he didn’t have anything structurally wrong with his arm, which eased his mind. It made it easier for him to make the decision,” Baker said.
Greinke had pitched five innings or fewer in each of his previous four starts, including the wild card series opener against Minnesota, allowing 12 earned runs over 18 2/3 innings in that span.
Baker said he wasn't sure how long Greinke could go against the Athletics. His other concern is Houston's bullpen, which has been taxed during the first three games.
“We hope to get as many quality innings as Greinke can give us and not have too many bullpen innings. The longer your starter can go the less mixing and matching you have to do,” Baker said.
The bullpen had not allowed an earned run in its first four postseason games, but gave up five runs and six hits Wednesday.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports