Snake Bytes, 9/6: Zack whacked

Recaps

[AZ Central] Greinke booed, heckled, pounded in return to Dodger Stadium - In a year in which unspeakable horrors already had been visited upon them, the Diamondbacks’ season might have reached a new, stunning low as Greinke was bombed by his old team, serving up a career-high five home runs in a 10-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It took until the final month of his first season with the Diamondbacks for him to make his first start back in this city, but that didn’t make the night any less memorable -- or any less grotesque for the Diamondbacks.

[dbacks.com] Zack Greinke gives up 5 homers in return to LA - Even in the fourth, when he allowed a two-run homer to Adrian Gonzalez, it seemed Greinke would settle in, but the fifth inning proved to be a disaster. "He had good location through that point," D-backs manager Chip Hale said of Greinke's first four innings. "And then the location wasn't there. They did a good job of exploiting it. The balls were up, they weren't quite far enough in and they were getting to him. They had some good at-bats against him. It's simple. They did a really nice job at the plate and his location wasn't where it was early in the game."

[Arizona Sports] Zack Greinke gives up 5 long balls in return to Dodger Stadium - Monday was the first start in Greinke’s career in which he gave up five home runs, and it’s also his fourth outing in 2016 that he’s allowed at least seven earned runs in, something he never did in his three seasons pitching for the Dodgers. In fact, Greinke is just the second pitcher in Diamondbacks’ history to allow five home runs in a start, joining Casey Daigle, who did it back in 2004. Daigle served up five long balls to the St. Louis Cardinals in a 13-6 loss in which he lasted only 2.2 innings.

[AP] Dodgers punish Zack Greinke with 5 home runs in 10-2 thrashing - Zack Greinke heard it from the fans first. Boos rang out in his initial at-bat against his old team. Then the Dodgers let him have it, blasting their former ace for a career-worst five home runs in his first road start against them. The crowd of 41,820 reacted loudly again when Greinke walked off with his head down after getting yanked in Arizona's 10-2 loss Monday night. "I feel I should be getting outs better than I am," he said. "I am not consistent right now, a couple of bad outings."

Team news

[AZ Central] Diamondbacks say they take spoiler role seriously - Manager Chip Hale says that at this time of year he puts together his lineup in part based on where the opponent is in the standings. "You want to give the teams that are in it the best that you have," he said. "I’ll manage (in-game) no different than I do against the Padres, but maybe some of the starters we would give off against the teams that aren’t in it. Maybe give (rookie Kyle) Jensen a start or some of the younger kids that are going to come up. That may be the only difference."

[dbacks.com] Andrew Chafin to rejoin Diamondbacks from DL - Two of Chafin's teammates are also scheduled to be activated Tuesday -- right-hander Rubby De La Rosa and catcher Chris Herrmann. Both have been with Triple-A Reno, whose season came to an end Monday. The D-backs will also have at least one other promotion that the club has yet to announce. "The group will come up tomorrow," D-backs manager Chip Hale said prior to Monday's series opener with the Dodgers. "They're all flying tonight and should be activated tomorrow."

[AZ Central] Socrates Brito’s homer a bright spot in ‘tough’ year - "Every time he hits homers, it’s kind of special the way he hits them," right-hander Archie Bradley said on Sunday. "I’m really hoping he has a chance to stay up here and continue to play. His athleticism is off the charts. You see him put together at-bats like that where you’re like, ‘Whoa.’ He could do that 25 times in a year, maybe more. I think he’s an unbelievable athlete."

And, elsewhere...

[New York Times] The Baseball Hall of Fame’s New Era: Digital - On Wednesday, the Hall will publish on its website several Babe Ruth scrapbooks compiled by his agent, Christy Walsh. More content will follow every other Wednesday, focusing on Jackie Robinson; the first class of inductees from 1936; the Negro Leagues; and oral histories. All of it will be available to the public. “The idea is to make as wide a variety of material as accessible as possible,” said Jeff Idelson, the Hall of Fame’s president. “For those who can’t get here, it allows them to touch the Hall of Fame and have a relationship with us.”

[OttawaSun] Eric Gagne shines in Champions last game of season - With a sun-baked, franchise record crowd of 7,886 looking on, Gagne started the way he used to close when he was referred to as “Game Over” for the Dodgers in the early 2000s. He finished with a line of five innings pitched, two hits, one earned run, no walks and six strikeouts. One of his pitches hit 93 mph on the radar gun. Most of the others were in the 89-91 mph range, said Champions manager Hal Lanier. “He really threw the ball well,” said Lanier. “He had good velocity. I was very impressed with what he did.”

[Chicago Tribune Dale Torborg's journey: From baseball to pro wrestling and back - After the White Sox won the World Series, Torborg approached A.J. Pierzynski about doing some spots with him on some Total NonStop Action wrestling shows. Pierzynski quickly said yes. "Ended up getting into the ring a few times, beating up a couple of guys, letting Dale get beat up for me," Pierzynski said. "I tell people all the time, 'I've played in World Series, I've played in All-Star Games … and I've never been as nervous as I was wrestling."

And the Women's World Baseball Cup is on. You've probably missed it. I mean, there was college football this weekend! :rollseyes: America has been eliminated from the medal round, but you can follow the remaining games which are being streamed on YouTube. If you want a moment, here's the Pakistan team - competing in the event for the first time ever - showing the joy of simply being there, celebrating their historic first out in the top of the first inning.

Top of 1st: Pakistan's first ever out in the #WomensBaseball World Cup !!!! #Debut https://t.co/zidfWSDxja

— WBSC (@WBSC) September 3, 2016