Zack Greinke slowed things down Monday night with an eephus pitch that has to be seen to be believed.
Houston Astros ace Zack Greinke had a rough night Monday against the Detroit Tigers. He gave up six runs on 10 hits before being pulled after 4.2 innings of work. Allowing three home runs so early in the game was not what anyone in Houston had in mind.
But there was still one amazing takeaway for fans from Greinke’s outing. That came in the form of an eephus pitch that somehow landed for a strike. This simply has to be seen to be believed.
Zack Greinke decides to slow it down
There is your average, everyday 51 mile-per-hour pitch from an MLB ace. That has to be quite the shocking sight for any batter. There is just no way to adjust to such a slow pitch when expecting the ball to come in nearly twice as fast. Sitting back and taking the strike avoids any sort of silly swing.
Does the catcher call for this? Or did Greinke just go rogue in frustration? That is the beauty of an eephus pitch. It comes out of nowhere and inspires awe without the need for immediate explanation.
There is the potential that a batter adjusts and hits some sort of legendary home run. However, Greinke got lucky in the midst of a rough start and provided Astros fans with a fun highlight.
Greinke began the year with two great starts that saw him allow only two earned runs in a total of 13 innings. Monday night was not ideal, but at least he gave fans something to smile about in an otherwise forgettable outing.