Zack Greinke hits first career triple, and the other coolest things in MLB last night

Dan Bernstein

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Zack Greinke hits first career triple, and the other coolest things in MLB last night image

Diamondbacks right-hander Zack Greinke will make $34.5 million this season. His next highest-earning teammate, David Peralta, will make $7 million.

After Arizona shipped Paul Goldshmidt to St. Louis and allowed A.J. Pollock to sign as a free agent with the rival Dodgers, Greinke has been an odd fit amid a retooling organization given that salary and his age.

He's also really good, even at 35, and unique in a game increasingly reliant on power arms. He has the second-best strikeout rate of his career right now (9.66) despite diminishing fastball velocity. He has a 3.72 ERA and has contributed to the Diamondbacks' surprise 15-11 start.

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On Thursday, Greinke once again showed his unusual skill set carries over to offense as he notched his first career triple in a game in which he threw seven shutout innings.

Here are the coolest moments in MLB last night:

4. Reds' David Hernandez gets out of jam in downpour

The Braves loaded the bases with no outs as the rain started trickling down at Great American Ball Park on Thursday. The Reds, leading 3-0, brought in right-hander David Hernandez to deal with Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte and Ozzie Albies. Hernandez struck out the side on just 13 pitches before the rain forced a lengthy delay.

Cincinnati (10-14) went on to win 4-2, thanks in large part to the clutch performance of its veteran relief pitcher.

3. George Springer hits ball out of Minute Maid Park 

While the Astros lost to the Indians, Springer provided a momentary lift by crushing a Trevor Bauer fastball an estimated 411 feet out of the stadium.

Springer is posting the best numbers of his career — his .286/.377/.582 slash line exceeds even his memorable 2017 campaign. That success comes despite Houston not facing a team below .500 yet this season, so it's possible he can pad his numbers further when he finally gets to face some of the AL's less talented teams.

The power is clearly there.

2. Zack Greinke achieves pitcher version of cycle

Greinke has always been considered one of the best hitting pitchers in the league. He sports a .225 career batting average and .597 on-base plus slugging. He has hit eight home runs in his career.

On Thursday, he completed a feat that had not been accomplished in MLB since 2011, notching a single, double, triple and home run in the same month.

This triple, the first of his career, did the trick.

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1. Longtime rivals Trevor Bauer and Gerrit Cole deliver epic duel

Bauer and Cole have never gotten along, all the way back to their time together in college at UCLA. Bauer and the Astros tangled last season when the right-hander insinuated Houston pitchers cheated by using pine tar on the mound. Astros players responded with their own barbs.

Beyond that, though, Bauer and Cole are two of the league's best pitchers on two of the league's best teams, so their meeting Thursday night received significant buildup.

It lived up to expectations.

Bauer earned the win with an eight-inning, 118-pitch gem, but Cole also pitched well, striking out 10 across seven frames.

Dan Bernstein