Diamondbacks' Zack Greinke sinks Pirates with 11 strikeouts

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates with 11 strikeouts over eight innings of shutout ball in a 2-1 victory on Thursday.

What It Means:

Greinke had a no-hitter going all the way into the eighth inning before Gregory Polanco popped a solo shot in the beginning of the frame. His only other imperfection was a Jordy Mercer walk in the third. The 33-year-old ace right-hander will bring a 4-2 record into next week's home matchup with the New York Mets.

Greinke has twirled a 2.79 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 28.4 strikeout percentage (career high) across 51 2/3 innings this season. That's considerable improvement from 2016 (4.37 ERA, 1.27 WHIP).