Zack Greinke happy with first spring training start after return to Kansas City Royals
It actually happened. Former Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke back in a Kansas City Royals uniform throwing pitches in a game to All-Star catcher Salvador Perez.
In a couple more weeks, the scene will likely take place in front of a larger crowd with a lot more Kansas City baseball fans in attendance.
But for now it was a welcomed sight for the Royals as Greinke made his first spring training start of Cactus League play in an 8-4 Royals win against the Colorado Rockies in front of an announced 5,045 on Wednesday afternoon at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.
“Inducing weak contact, trying to get ahead and using everything that he had and putting it just about wherever he wanted to,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “It was a display of pitching. That’s what we know we’re going to see from him.”
Greinke, who last pitched for the Royals in 2010, was as advertised. That visceral grunt that typically accompanies his pitches was present and audible in the second deck of the ballpark.
The 38-year-old kept hitters largely off-balance with a fastball that hovered around 89-90 mph coupled with a curveball clocked at 66 mph in the first inning. He also threw a changeup nearly as hard as his fastball at times — 88 mph in one instance — yet it all seemed to work.
“He had pretty good command of his fastball, changeup, everything,” Perez said. “It’s easy when you’ve got guys like him on the mound.”
Greinke didn’t allow a ball that left the infield until his second batter in the second inning. He walked the leadoff batter but quickly got a double-play ball.
He gave up a two-out single in the second but nothing else. He gave up one unearned run in his third and final inning on the main mound.
“The results are ideal,” Greinke said of how he’ll judge his outing. “But more so the fastball was coming out pretty good. All the pitches were coming out kind of how I expect them too. The location for the most part was close enough to be happy, actually in some cases it was better than it is sometimes in the regular season.”
With two outs in the third, shortstop Nicky Lopez committed a fielding error on a bouncer off the bat of Charlie Blackmon on the infield grass. The next batter, Connor Joe, roped an RBI double into left-center field.
Greinke threw 41 pitches (27 strikes). He walked one batter, the first of the game on a full count, and he allowed two hits.
“Every time he’s on the mound he’s going to compete,” Perez said. “It doesn’t matter where he’s at, spring training, bullpen, wherever, at home. He’s going to compete.”
Greinke has been working on some small tweaks to his pitching delivery aimed at using his body more to create a bit more power and hopefully helping the “crispness” or some pitches.
After coming out of the game, Greinke continued to throw off the mound in the bullpen. He said he threw roughly 10 additional pitches lightly.
“I was still feeling really strong in the game,” Greinke said. “It’s a short spring training, so you’ve got to try things out that you might not normally do.”
Olivares rakes
Edward Olivares, who was optioned to the minors eight times last year during the major-league season, started in center field and went 2 for 3 with two home runs.
He’s 7 for 10 with two home runs, a double and a triple in four Cactus League games.
“He’s a good player,” Matheny said. “We’ve got data that validates what we’re seeing. The ball is coming off his bat harder, even in batting practice, at a consistent level. It means he’s getting stronger. He’s figuring out how to stay through the ball a little better and use his lower half, maintain his lower half so he can have the kind of power to go to the opposite field.
“He just keeps improving in every aspect of the game. Right now, he’s having a fantastic spring.”
Smith to be honored
The Royals announced Wednesday morning that former employee Linda Smith, who retired after the 2017 season, will be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on April 20, at the Women’s Sports Luncheon presented by the Bee Payne-Stewart Foundation.
Smith spent 46 years in Major League Baseball, and 37 of those years came working for the Royals over two separate stints.
A graduate of Missouri State, Smith began her career with the Royals in 1972. She worked in public relations, group sales, marketing and scouting and player development from 1972-1992 before she joined the Atlanta Braves as Administrative Assistant of Scouting.
She spent the 1997 season with the Texas Rangers and 1997-2000 with the Braves before she returned to Kansas City in 2001 as the manager of scouting administration. She became manager of scouting operations in 2004 and held that title through 2017.
Pitching plans
The Royals listed left-handed starter Daniel Lynch along with relief pitchers Joel Payamps, Domingo Tapia, Gabe Speier and Taylor Clarke as probables for Thursday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds at Surprise Stadium.
Lynch made 15 starts in the majors last season, including his major-league debut in May.
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 7:22 PM.
