Stat of the Night: A Home Run Against Zack Greinke

In the bottom of the third inning, John McDonald hit a three run home run against Zack Greinke that gave the Diamondbacks a 7-5 lead. Greinke had an awful outing, and this home run only serves to prove that.

You see, Zack Greinke had only given up one home run all season before this game. That came on April 23, in the first inning against the Houston Astros. Greinke had made six starts and went 41 innings without giving up a home run since that first home run. Prior to 2012, Greinke averaged one home run every 9.76 innings. To go 41 innings without a home run is an impressive feat for him.

You might recall that last season much of Greinke's struggles, when he struggled, seemed to center around getting hit hard and giving up an untimely home run. That's exactly what happened tonight. Ten hits in 2.1 innings, with the three run home run giving up the lead.

That's not to say Greinke is prone to giving up home runs. He had a 1.00 HR/9 rate in 2011, his highest since his second full season in the majors in 2005. Greinke has been good about not allowing home runs in his career. In his brief time with the Brewers, it seems like he has a penchant to allow them at bad times, however.

Greinke lowering his HR/9 even further, as he has in 2012, is a great sign, though. His lowest HR/9 of his career was a 0.43. That came in 2009. I think we are all familiar with Zack Greinke's 2009 at this point. Avoiding allowing home runs is always a good thing, but for Greinke it may be the difference between good and great.