Zack Greinke is starting to look like a $206.5-million man

Zack Greinke’s ERA after his first start as a Diamondback was 15.75. A few rough April outings later left the ERA at an unsightly 6.16 on April 17.

Today, it’s coming back down to typical Greinke levels. It’s now fallen to a more managable 4.29– and that’s something the Diamondbacks will gladly take at this point.

Greinke is 5-1 with a 3.06 ERA over his last seven starts, and has allowed three runs or fewer in five of those starts. This is a pitcher that closer resembles the guy the Diamondbacks gave $206.5 million to back in the offseason.

This is encouraging for the Diamondbacks, who will need Greinke to live up to his gigantic contract over its six-year life. The Diamondbacks’ rotation as a whole has been a huge dissappointment; its ERA of 5.14 is 14th in the National League— ahead of just the altitude-driven Rockies.  If Greinke can turn it around, that would be a fantastic start for the rotation at large.

Greinke will look to continue this string of encouraging starts tonight at home against the Rays. Greinke has not had much to cheer about at Chase Field this season, he has gone 3-3 with a 6.04 ERA there in 2016. He has allowed more than three runs in five of his seven starts at home, but he will look to reverse this dubious trend tonight.

He has been far better on the road with a 1.54 ERA. The fact that Greinke has begun to establish some consistency should mean we see his home ERA to dwindle closer to his road– and career– ERA.