On Friday night, Houston Astros fans were treated to another gem pitched by Zack Greinke as he stymied the Toronto Blue Jays in a 13-1 victory. Greinke pitched his first complete game since April 2017, and it was the first for an Astros pitcher since Justin Verlander no-hit the Blue Jays back in September 2019.

"This was one of the first times where I felt really strong at the end," said Greinke who needed only 102 pitches to finish his 17th career complete game. "Most games I feel a little tired later on. Today it felt just as good, if not better, in the last inning, as it did in the first inning."

Game fatigue was something that Greinke dealt with earlier this season as he was unable to pitch five innings in three consecutive games from late April to early May. After being removed in his last start against Toronto in Houston in the fourth inning, he has averaged over seven innings pitched in his last five starts leading him to a 4-1 record in those games.

Greinke attributes his latest success to the brilliance of catcher Martín Maldonado behind the plate.

“These last five games, we’ve been feeling a bit better with the stuff,” Greinke said. “The last five games, there hasn’t been any miscommunication. Everything is great. The biggest issue the last couple of games is when I’ve shaken him off. I probably should have thrown what he called. We’ve been in a good rhythm these last five games.”

For as great as Maldonado was behind the plate, he was even better at the plate for the Astros. He stepped up with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth inning and cleared them when he hit a 349-foot grand slam on the first pitch from Toronto starter Hyun Jin Ryu over the left field wall.

"He's been working religiously and tirelessly in the cage," said Astros manager Dusty Baker about Maldonado’s resurgence at the plate. "He was better than he was swinging and getting a little frustrated in the last week. We're glad he had a big night."

Maldonado also made reference to the amount of work he has put in this season to get better and bring a little pop to the bottom of the batting order.

“It’s good when you work so hard on a daily basis to have consistent at-bats,” he said after finishing the game with five RBIs. “I’ve been seeing the ball good and putting good swings on the ball. Finally, today, I happened to stun everybody, even me, looking for results. We’ll continue to have good at-bats and good swings. That’s the only thing I can control.”

Not to be lost in the excellent game pitched by Greinke, or the great at-bat appearances by Maldonado is the amazing night shortstop Carlos Correa had offensively. He hit a solo homer in the fifth inning to put the Astros up by a score of 3-0 and followed that up with a three-run shot in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach.

“I’ve been stepping before lifting the leg, and it’s keeping me a lot shorter, giving me more time to see the ball and drive it,” said Correa about the success he has had of late at the plate. “From the moment I did it, it started paying off. I’ve been doing it since then.”