Zack Greinke struggled in Kansas City Royals loss, then left with shoulder issue: recap

The Kansas City Royals didn’t have an answer for Minnesota Twins starter Kenta Maeda on Tuesday afternoon.

Maeda shut down the Royals lineup for seven innings. He allowed three hits and struck out nine batters en route to his second win of the season.

The Twins provided ample run support in a 9-3 victory.

“I think he was just throwing a little bit of everything,” Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. said. “The slider with different movements and he was just pitching.”

The Royals added two runs on a two-run home run by Witt. He drilled a four-seam fastball into the Royals bullpen. It was his 13th home run of the season.

The Twins offense was more potent. Max Kepler went 2 for 3 and drove in four RBIs. In the second inning, Kepler hit a three-run homer to propel the Twins offense. Later, Donovan Solano and Byron Buxton hit consecutive homers as Carlos Correa recorded his 1,000th hit.

Minnesota collected 10 hits against the Royals pitching staff. Royals starter Zack Greinke took the loss after surrendering six runs. He left the game in the sixth inning with right shoulder discomfort.

“My shoulder got pretty fatigued pretty fast,” Greinke said.

Pitching issues also plagued the Royals in the opener — though Monday’s game was lost by the bullpen.

The Royals fell to 25-61. They will look to salvage a game in the series on Wednesday night.

Missed the start of the series?

Game 1: Royals surrender five runs in eighth inning, fall 8-4 to Twins

Roster moves: Royals shuffle the roster ahead of Tuesday’s game

Here are more notables from Tuesday’s game:

Zack Greinke exits early with shoulder injury

Royals starter Zack Greinke didn’t have an efficient start. He surrendered seven hits and six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed three home runs.

Greinke threw 81 pitches. In the sixth inning, he left the game with right shoulder discomfort.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro said the discomfort is very mild. The Royals will continue to evaluate Greinke on Wednesday.

Greinke added that a lack of movement on his pitches contributed to the early exit.

“It just wasn’t coming out the same,” Greinke said. “I figured it was better to come out than to try to keep doing that and make things worse all the way around.”

The Royals replaced him with reliever Nick Wittgren. Prior to his exit, Grienke generated 35 swings and just four whiffs.

“I didn’t feel very sharp that last inning going out,” Greinke said. “I actually felt good most of the game.”

Bobby Witt Jr. drills 13th home run

Bobby Witt Jr. continued his surge at the plate. Witt, who was named the Royals Player of the Month for June, carried over his momentum against the Twins.

In the fourth inning, Witt hit his 13th home run off Twins starter Kenta Maeda. The blast traveled 432 feet and landed in the Royals bullpen. Witt connected on a 91.4 four-seam fastball that was left in the strike zone.

“Bobby is swinging the bat great,” Quatraro said. “His at-bats have been tremendous for a while now. He is super competitive up there and making some adjustments on the fly.”

The home run cut into the Twins’ four-run lead. It was one of the Royals’ three hits against Maeda on Tuesday.

Witt is hitting .444 (4 for 9) with three RBIs, two extra-base hits and two stolen bases this series.

What’s next: The Royals conclude their three-game set against the Twins. Alec Marsh will make his second MLB start against Pablo Lopez on Wednesday night.