Zack Greinke on Wednesday took a shot at A.J. Hinch and the Houston Astros over the way they have handled him in the past.
The Astros won Game 4 of the ALCS 4-3 against the Tampa Bay Rays at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. Greinke got into trouble in the top of the sixth with a 4-2 lead. Rather than pull him out and go to the bullpen, Astros manager Dusty Baker took a mound visit and liked what he saw from the pitcher. He decided to let Greinke stay in the game, which paid off. Greinke was able to escape the jam with the bases loaded and did not allow anyone to score.
After the game, Greinke expressed appreciation towards Baker for allowing him the chance to get out of the jam.
For a guy they thought would help them win a World Series, the #Astros have shown little faith in Zack Greinke.
Tonight, Greinke confirmed it.
Greinke says "Its nice having someone have confidence in me. Since I've been here, they haven't seemed to have confidence in my ability." pic.twitter.com/eQ8E92g395— Jason Bristol (@JBristolKHOU) October 15, 2020
“It was nice having someone have confidence in me. Since I’ve been here, they haven’t seemed to have confidence in my ability. So it was nice having that happen at an important time like that,” Greinke said.
Greinke was asked if he was referring to Game 7 of the World Series and said “that was one example, but there’s probably a dozen examples if you look back at it.”
Greinke also was asked if he liked a manager who made some decisions based on feel rather than just statistics.
“I would say he’s really, really good at that. I’ve been impressed; he reads people really good, and I don’t think I’ve seen him make a wrong decision when he trusts what he sees. I think he sees the right thing almost 100 percent of the time,” Greinke said.
One of the newer trends in baseball has been the persistent quick hooks for pitchers, especially in the playoffs. Hinch’s absurdly quick hook for Greinke in Game 7 of the World Series last year cost the Astros the championship.
The kind of decision Baker made on Wednesday night may have only extended the ALCS by a game, but it also would have won the team a championship last year. It also seems to be appreciated by the team.
