World Series Game 5 was full of excitement from the first pitch of the game on. Both teams’ bats were awake from the get-go as Braves outfielder Adam Duvall launched a first inning grand slam to give Atlanta an early 4-0 lead. But Houston answered back with four runs of their own in the next two innings. 

Both Framber Valdez and Tucker Davidson got knocked around in their brief outings and neither starting pitcher lasted longer than the third inning in this slugfest of a game. With one out and nobody on in the top of the fourth inning, the pitcher’s spot for the Astros came up, and Houston skipper Dusty Baker called for a pinch hitter. However, the guy he called upon was not actually a hitter. No, it was 38-year-old pitcher Zack Greinke. Baker did this so as not to waste a bench player so early in the game, but he also knew that the veteran right-hander is no stranger to the batter’s box.

For his career, Greinke is hitting .225 (117-521) with nine home runs, 34 RBIs and a .598 OPS— fantastic numbers for someone whose job isn’t even to swing the bat. On Sunday night, the veteran pitcher became the first pitcher to pinch hit in a World Series game since Clayton Kershaw in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series, and lined a base hit to right field off of Jesse Chavez. With this historic swing of the bat, Greinke became the first pitcher to get a hit as a pinch hitter in a World Series Game since Jack Bentley in 1923. And with the universal Designated Hitter looming, the days of pitchers hitting are quickly dwindling. So, if this is in fact one of the last games that will showcase a pitcher stepping up to the plate, it is safe to say Greinke has represented the “Pitchers Who Rake” well in what has been potentially one of the committees’ final appearances.

Greinke not only got a big hit but was also responsible for the hardest-hit ball of the night for the Astros—his single registering at a whopping 105.9 MPH off the bat. Greinke pitched four scoreless innings two nights ago in Game 4 and is now 2-for-3 this series swinging the bat. It is fair to say that Greinke has been contributing on both sides of the ball thus far in the Fall Classic.

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