Major League Baseball
Arizona 3, Houston 0
When: 2:10 PM ET, Thursday, June 2, 2016
Where: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas
Temperature: Indoors
Umpires: Home - Ron Kulpa, 1B - Chris Conroy, 2B - Jerry Meals, 3B - Sean Barber
Attendance: 21764

HOUSTON – Zack Greinke delivered his best start of the season and the Arizona Diamondbacks averted a four-game series sweep with a 3-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Thursday at Minute Maid Park.

Greinke (7-3) was masterful in his seven scoreless innings while allowing just four hits – all singles. He did not walk a batter and recorded a season-high 11 strikeouts, tossing 103 pitches.

The Astros (25-30) proved helpless against Greinke as their season-best five-game winning streak came to a close. They pushed only two runners into scoring position against Greinke, with second baseman Jose Altuve reaching second base in the fourth on an error and designated hitter Tony Kemp advancing to third when Altuve singled to right field with two outs in the sixth inning. Greinke recovered to induce a groundout from shortstop Carlos Correa to maintain the scoreless tie.

Making his 11th start with the Diamondbacks (24-32), Greinke had allowed at least one earned run in each of his previous appearances. He allowed one run over eight innings at St. Louis on May 22, his best showing prior to Thursday.

Astros left-hander Dallas Keuchel (3-7) matched Greinke with six shutout innings before suddenly coming apart in the top of the seventh.

Keuchel had allowed four baserunners prior to his final frame. But in the seventh the first four batters reached base, with catcher Welington Castillo drilling an RBI double to center field following Rickie Weeks' leadoff single. Keuchel followed by hitting third baseman Jake Lamb with a pitch, although a reply review appeared to show the ball ricocheting off his bat knob, before Chris Owings added an RBI single.

The Diamondbacks tacked on a third run with two fly-ball outs off Astros right-hander Pat Neshek, the second by Nick Ahmed to score Lamb. All three runs were charged to Keuchel, who surrendered six hits and one walk while striking out six in his third consecutive home loss.

Right-handers Daniel Hudson and Brad Ziegler preserved the shutout by working an inning apiece in relief. Zeigler recorded his 10th save.

NOTES: Astros C Jason Castro remained out with an illness. Castro was at the ballpark Wednesday night in case of an emergency but was not in the dugout. With Castro unavailable, Evan Gattis worked behind the plate for a third consecutive game and fourth time in five games. ... Diamondbacks OF David Peralta went 1-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base and an RBI in an extended spring training game against the Rockies on Wednesday. He will play in another game on Thursday, take Friday off, and play Saturday and Sunday with Triple A Reno. Peralta was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 15 with right wrist inflammation. ... Astros RHP Luke Gregerson was unavailable on Thursday after blowing a save on Wednesday night, his fourth appearance in five games. Gregerson had recorded saves in each of his four previous appearances before allowing three runs in the ninth inning of a 5-4, 11-inning win. ... Diamondbacks RHP Shelby Miller threw a side session on Wednesday and will pitch in an extended spring training game on Saturday. Miller is on the 15-day disabled list with a right index finger sprain.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Arizona   Houston
Zack Greinke Player Dallas Keuchel
Win W/L Loss
7.0 IP 6.0
11 Strikeouts 6
4 Hits 6
0.00 ERA 4.50
Hitting
Arizona   Houston
Welington Castillo Player Tony Kemp
2 Hits 1
1 RBI 0
0 HR 0
3 TB 1
.500 Avg .333
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Arizona 7 0 8 .226 10 9 3 2 0 1
Houston 5 0 5 .156 9 14 0 0 0 0