W: Takashi Saito (1-0)
L: Daniel Hudson (0-1)
HR: Ryan Braun (1), Paul Goldschmidt (1), Chris Young (1), Justin Upton (1)
MVP: Ryan Braun (+.186)
LVP: Zack Greinke (-.167)
Win Expectancy Graph and Star of the Game Voting
When you go undefeated at home as a starting pitcher, odds are it's because you had some days like this one.
Zack Greinke had one of his more frustrating recent outings today: He was given four runs to work with in the early innings but gave it all back on a season-high three Arizona home runs. He was lifted after five innings and allowed the aforementioned four runs on eight hits, walking none and striking out seven. It's hard to second guess the decision to let him pitch this game, but it is safe to say it didn't pay off.
The offense and bullpen, however, bailed him out. The Brewers scored five runs in the sixth as seven straight batters reached with one out and blew the game open. The Diamondbacks and Kirk Gibson certainly helped them along: The inning featured two walks (a four pitch free pass to Yuniesky Betancourt and an intentional walk to Mark Kotsay), a balk and an error on a squeeze attempt.
Reliever Brad Ziegler, who allowed six of those seven players to reach, was worth -.375 WPA in the game. That's the worst performance by an Arizona pitcher in a postseason game since Byung-Hyun Kim blew a pair of saves in the 2001 World Series.
Meanwhile, the Brewer bullpen provided some drama but came through. Takashi Saito, LaTroy Hawkins and Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford each allowed baserunners but no runs in single innings of work.
Ryan Braun had one of the hits in the sixth inning, and led the Brewers with three in the game. He finished a triple short of the cycle, drove in three runs and scored twice.