Zack Greinke exits early as Kansas City Royals lose series finale at Tampa Bay Rays
Veteran starting pitcher Zack Greinke had some hiccups on the mound Sunday as he tried to finish off his first couple of innings for the Kansas City Royals.
He appeared to settle into a rhythm for a while against the Tampa Bay Rays, but during the fourth inning he seemed to show signs of discomfort in his wrist or forearm. That prompted a visit to the mound from manager Mike Matheny and head athletic trainer Kyle Turner.
Greinke eventually left the game, which the Royals (49-74) went on to lose 3-2, having thrown fewer than 70 pitches and retiring the last three batters he faced.
“He had something cramp up in his forearm, so we went out in the middle of the inning just to make sure,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “It was fine. He didn’t feel anything after that. But then he got back on the bench and started tightening up. We had to get him out.”
The Royals remained within striking distance even with Greinke out of the game, but in the end they couldn’t generate enough offense to close out the four-game series with a win in front of an announced 12,940 at Tropicana Field.
Greinke, who spent time on the injured list earlier this season with a flexor strain, described what he experienced in the fourth inning as “a little cramp-type feeling.”
He tried to wave off Matheny and Turner from coming to the mound, explaining later that in the past, when faced with a situation like that, he might’ve just thrown a ball to the catcher to test how he felt. But Greinke also admitted that approach often causes more confusion.
After throwing several warmup pitches with the trainer and Matheny watching, Grienke finished his only 1-2-3 inning of the day. He expressed optimism that the cramping was a short-term issue.
“I felt good after that last at-bat throwing, so hopefully it’s good tomorrow,” he said.
Greinke gave up a pair of two-out hits in the first inning. The first, a single by Randy Arozarena, seemed harmless enough.
But Arozarena stole second base to put himself in scoring position. Then Harold Ramirez’s single to right field was placed just out of the reach of diving first baseman Nick Pratto and drove in Arozarena with the game’s first run.
The Rays struck again with two outs in the second inning when catcher Christian Bethancourt blasted a purposely elevated fastball 399 feet and over the left-center field wall for a solo home run. That gave the Rays a 2-0 edge, with all four of their hits, to that point in the game, having come with two outs.
“Some of the pitches they hit were exactly what I wanted to do to them, and then they kind of popped up or fouled off some pitches I know I didn’t want to throw to them,” Greinke said. “It’s kind of weird that some mistakes I made I got away with. Some pitches I executed, they hit good. It was just not the normal game for me.”
Isbel and Lopez spark fifth-inning scoring
Rookies MJ Melendez (2 for 4, double, RBI) and Bobby Witt Jr. (1 for 2, double, RBI) drove in runs for the Royals in the fifth inning.
After a one-out walk by Kyle Isbel in the fifth, Nicky Lopez followed with a 13-pitch at-bat against Rays starter Ryan Yarbrough, which included nine fouled-off pitches. Lopez then put a ball toward second baseman Brandon Lowe, who made an error in his attempt to get the force-out on the lead runner Isbel.
That left two men on and still just one out.
“I was trying to put a couple in play early in the count that I hooked foul,” Lopez said. “Once you get to two strikes, it’s kind of just grind mode. Trying to put the ball in play or walk or something like that. I was just kind of battling with him. He was throwing the changeup, curveball, slider, fastball. It was a good at-bat between me and him.”
Lopez lauded Isbel for “busting his butt” running on the play
Melendez then stepped in the batter’s box and ripped a 3-2 pitch off the glove of Rays first baseman Ramirez into right field for an RBI single.
Witt then hit a fly ball up the right field line that allowed Lopez to tag up and score from third with a good slide on a very close play at the plate. The sacrifice fly tied the score 2-2. Both runs were unearned due to the error.
The Rays answered right back in the bottom of the fifth with Greinke out of the game and the Royals having turned the game over to the bullpen. Jose Cuas faced four batters but recorded just one out and gave up what was ultimately the deciding run.
Ramirez’s second RBI single of the day gave the Rays a 3-2 advantage and marked the end of Cuas’ outing. Amir Garrett, who’d stranded 25 of 28 inherited runners this season, entered with one out and runners on the corners.
Garrett threw four pitches and got out of the inning thanks to a line-out double play.
Brad Keller (two innings) and Dylan Coleman (one inning) each also had scoreless outings.
Rough road trip for Royals
The Royals amassed just 18 hits in the four-game series, and they’ve been held to six hits or fewer in a club-record six consecutive games.
The Rays pitching staff has now allowed three runs or fewer in eight of their last nine.
“We’ve got to make some adjustments to where we’re putting together better at-bats on a consistent basis,” Matheny said.
The Royals, who’d went 7-4 on their most recent homestand, concluded the seven-game road trip with a 1-6 record, including back-to-back losses to finish the weekend.
“It was a tough road trip, but there’s a lot to learn from it. We’re super young. We’re all going through it together. Obviously, baseball … you struggle at times. You have some success at times too. You just have to kind of ride the wave. Especially right now with a young team, we’ve gotta keep going, trying to get better and better.”
