Zack Greinke’s vocabulary is family-friendly, as we found out first hand on Saturday
Every Houston Astros game is rated PG, unless they’re stealing signs — that’s not the type of example you want to send to children. All jokes aside, the Astros acting ace (given Justin Verlander’s injury) has been flat-out filthy in 2020, with a 2.21 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 35 innings as of Saturday. Against the Athletics, he made a rare mistake, skipping a ball in the dirt. Greinke’s reaction to said misfire was caught on live audio, and went viral for all the right reasons.
Greinke’s done it all this year, even throwing a borderline eephus pitch at just under 60 MPH, which landed in the catcher’s mitt as a strike. Is there anything this guy can’t do?
Will Greinke’s presence be enough to carry the Astros to the playoffs?
With their win on Saturday, the Astros are just 3.5 games behind the Athletics. While that gap may seem narrow, with half the season already over with, Houston is running out of time to make the postseason as AL West champs.
Thankfully for Houston, they have multiple avenues to postseason baseball. Second-place teams in every division will be granted admission into the MLB Playoffs, widening the field substantially. If the Astros can just get in, who’s to say they can’t make a run? Heck (as Greinke would say), they have the pedigree.
If any team could use a pickup for their starting rotation at the trade deadline, it’s Houston. They lost Gerrit Cole in free agency, and Verlander is out for the year. Come the playoffs, they’ll need at least two pitchers they can rely on on a consistent basis. That’s not the case right now, by a long shot.