Brewers' Greinke Takes Mets To School, Stretches Shutout Streak To 15 Innings
NEW YORK (AP) -- Ryan Braun had a fresh pink welt on his left triceps, where he was hit one pitch after Rickie Weeks launched a long home run in the seventh inning.
He barely felt it.
Zack Greinke's seven stellar innings and Travis Ishikawa's two homers and five RBIs in the Milwaukee Brewers' 8-0 win over the New York Mets on Tuesday night were quite the pain reliever for the NL MVP.
"It's fine," Braun said of his arm.
Greinke (4-1) was more than fine for his second straight outing. He allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked none while extending his scoreless streak to 15 innings.
"Control's been good, the last two starts. That's the main key," Greinke said. "It's mainly just being able to throw quality strikes."
Weeks' drive to deep left snapped an 0-for-21 skid and touched off an ugly moment. Mets reliever D.J. Carrasco then hit Braun with his next pitch and was immediately ejected by plate umpire Gary Darling.
"I didn't like it. I don't understand it," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said.
Mets manager Terry Collins pinch hit for David Wright leading off the bottom half. Wright had two of the Mets' hits off Greinke, a double and a broken-bat single in the fourth inning -- a shard of wood whirling past Greinke.
"It was interesting what that shows," Roenicke said of Collins lifting Wright -- and also David Murphy two batters later.
Collins and Wright had a discussion in the dugout before he was due up. Wright wanted to bat but Collins was not going to put his .408-hitting star in a dangerous position.
"He said, `If somebody should be hit, it's me,"' Collins said. "I said it's not going to be you."
Braun understood both sides of the argument.
"I respect the fact that he wanted to stay in the game," Braun said. "I don't fault them for making that decision at all."
Tim Dillard worked the eighth and John Axford gave up a hit in the ninth while finishing the six-hitter. It was Axford's first appearance since his string of 49 straight saves ended Friday night and he left a note of apology to the media in the clubhouse when he went to be with his wife, who was having contractions.
Ishikawa led off the fifth with his third homer of the year and connected for a three-run shot in the sixth, both drives coming on the first pitch of the at-bat against Dillon Gee (2-3). He also had a run-scoring groundout in the second inning as fog started rolling in, a misty haze that hung over the outfield for the remainder of the game.
"He's been throwing a lot of strikes," said Ishikawa, who has been platooning at first base since Mat Gamel tore a ligament in his right knee in early May. "I didn't want to get deep into the count."
The Mets had a chance to move six games over .500 for the first time since July 18, 2010, but managed little against Greinke.
The Mets did not make an out to the outfield against Greinke. Only Wright and pinch-hitter Mike Baxter, who doubled to left in the sixth, reached second.
Greinke came in 30-46 away from home -- he is 80-74 overall. His only poor start this season came at the Chicago Cubs, when he gave up eight runs.
"I'm just trying to keep the same mindset," Greinke said about pitching on the road as compared to home. "I'm trying to make that better. You're just a little more comfortable at home."
The Brewers gave Greinke an early lead on Ishikawa's groundout and Cesar Izturis' RBI single. Ishikawa homered off the "Wise Snacks" sign above the New York bullpen in right-center on the first pitch of the fifth inning.
Braun and Aramis Ramirez singled off Gee to start the sixth. Jonathan Lucroy had a one-out RBI single before Ishikawa hit another long ball for the first multihomer game of his career. Ishikawa added a third hit in the eighth, an infield single.
Weeks returned to the Brewers' starting lineup after being limited to one pinch-hit at-bat in three games because of a bruised hand. He struck out twice and grounded to shortstop before getting his first hit since May 6.
Gee was very upset after giving up 10 hits and four runs in 5 2-3 innings in his previous start. This one was worse. He matched a season high by allowing seven runs and yielded eight hits in 5 1-3 innings. Gee has not won in three starts.
"Mistakes that he makes are in the middle of the plate," Collins said.
NOTES: Brewers OF Carlos Gomez (strained left hamstring) is set to begin a rehab assignment with Class-A Wisconsin on Wednesday. Roenicke said he should be back Sunday. ... Major League Baseball will officially name the Mets host of the 2013 All-Star game at Citi Field with a ceremony at City Hall on Wednesday morning. ... Murphy singled in the fifth to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
