Zack Greinke finds way to keep KC Royals in game against Tigers despite command issues
Zack Greinke had to grind his way through his second start of the season for the Kansas City Royals. He didn’t have the type of command he typically counts on.
But he maneuvered his way through 5 1/3 innings despite dealing with some heavy traffic on the bases early in the Royals’ 4-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Thursday at Kauffman Stadium.
Greinke did not factor into the decision. He allowed two runs on five hits and one walk. He also hit a batter and threw a wild pitch.
“It was kind of a tough one,” Greinke said. “Curveball was good, and that was about it. I’ve got to try to figure some stuff out in between starts and be a little sharper the next time out.”
Greinke credited catcher Salvador Perez for suggesting some in-game adjustments that helped him settle in after the second or third inning.
Greinke didn’t record a strikeout for just the fourth time in 490 career starts. The last time he pitched without a strikeout was Aug. 18, 2021 against the Royals in Kansas City.
“I’ve just got to get more than that to be able to continue to get decent results,” Greinke said. “It’s a little frustrating. I don’t think they’re a team that — I think they do strike out some, too.
“Last year, I think I did that to the Royals. But they didn’t have many guys that strike out, so it made more sense. I mainly just gotta get the pitches sharper, locate more and hopefully it will straighten out.”
The Tigers loaded the bases with no outs in the second inning on back-to-back singles by Jeimer Candelario and Miguel Cabrera followed by an Akil Baddoo walk.
Greinke got to two strikes against the next batter, Spencer Torkelson, but then hit him with a 2-2 changeup to force in the game’s first run. Harold Castro followed with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Greinke got out of the inning having allowed just the two runs after the fly ball and a line-out.
“Right there, I’m just trying to make pitches because I walked a guy, a pretty bad walk, then hit someone,” Greinke said. “I’m kind of just trying to execute some pitches. That’s kind of all my thought was. I wasn’t really necessarily trying to get any one out any more than other times, just start throwing the ball where I want and make better pitches.”
Greinke left with one out and a runner on second with the score tied in the sixth inning. He gave way to rookie reliever Collin Snider.
“Greinke’s never going to concede anything,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s pretty artistic. He’s very creative. He’s gonna test you. He’s not afraid to throw any pitch in any count. He will slow the game down. You’ve got to stay disciplined with him.
“We took some tough pitches in tough counts. Some went our way, some didn’t. But as the at-bats got longer we were able to get him out of the game a little bit sooner. To be able to handle the lack of aggressiveness that Zack has is a good sign for us.”
Snider closed out the inning with the help of Whit Merrifield’s first outfield assist of the season. Cabrera hit a two-out single to right field.
Merrifield lined himself up to the plate, gathered the ball and uncorked a throw that Perez caught and used to make a sweeping tag just in time to get Austin Meadows, who was attempting to score from second.
“I thought he had to work hard the whole start,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Greinke. “You could tell he wasn’t happy with his location, a guy that thrives on very good location all the time.
“He was just making pitches when he had to. In that second, you’re there with bases loaded and nobody out. To keep it just to two right there really limited the damage and kept us in the game, gave us a chance. I thought he got better as he went, but he was working hard today.”
This story was originally published April 15, 2022 at 12:56 AM.
