Trade to Astros could give Zack Greinke chance to beat his 30th MLB team, the Royals
The Houston Astros pulled the rug out from under the baseball world on Wednesday when they traded for Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke.
Greinke, who won a Cy Young Award with the Royals in 2011, is having another All-Star-caliber season. He’s 10-4 with a 2.90 ERA. He won’t need his bat in Houston, which is unfortunate because Greinke is hitting .271 with three home runs this season.
There is a chance Greinke could be back in Kansas City in September. The Astros play a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium from Sept. 13-15.
He’ll be looking for his first win against the Royals, who picked Greinke in the first round of the 2011 draft.
Greinke is 137-55 with a 3.06 ERA and 1,639 strikeouts in 1,701 1/3 innings since being traded from Kansas City and has made four starts against the Royals. He’s been burned by a poor bullpen twice, once was roughed up by the Royals and once pitched as a tune-up for the postseason.
Greinke has at least one win against the other 29 teams in Major League Baseball, but he is 0-2 with a 3.24 ERA against the Royals, allowing nine runs and three homers in 25 innings pitched. It’s a small sample size, of course, but it’s an interesting quirk. Also of note: all four of those starts have been at Kauffman Stadium.
Here is how Greinke has fared against the Royals since leaving Kansas City:
Sept. 29, 2017: Greinke gave up two runs in four innings, serving up a home run to Whit Merrifield, and the Royals beat Arizona 2-1 on the final Friday of the regular season. Ian Kennedy was the winning pitcher, but Greinke was tuning up for the National League Wild Card Game.
June 23, 2014: Pitching for the Dodgers, the Royals pounded out 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings and scored five runs. Salvador Perez hit a solo homer and Jeremy Guthrie got the victory as the Royals won 5-3.
Sept. 15, 2012: Greinke was in line to get the victory, carrying a shutout into the ninth inning for the Angels. Greinke opened the ninth by striking out Alcides Escobar. Alex Gordon single, and Ernesto Frieri replaced Greinke. Billy Butler hit a two-run homer to tie the game and Perez followed with a walk-off blast as the Royals won 3-2.
June 12, 2012: In his first game against the Royals since his trade to the Brewers, Greinke fanned eight in seven innings, allowing just one run on six hits. Francisco Rodriguez allowed a double to Butler that scored Gordon and gave the Royals a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning. Jonathan Broxton got the save and Greg Holland was the winning pitcher in relief of Luis Mendoza.