Despite bumps, Greinke confident
KANSAS CITY -- Zack Greinke stood in front of his locker Thursday night still wearing his full uniform. Around him, his teammates showered, dressed and left, but Greinke just stood there, fielding questions. He was even wearing a jacket while outside temperatures had soared into the 80s.
His explanation?
"I just forgot to take it off when I came in and went straight to the food room," he said.
Fair enough. Greinke should be entitled to his numerous eccentricities, especially if he continues his march back from a disastrous five-start stretch during which he allowed 31 earned runs and 43 hits over just 23 2/3 innings of work.
Granted, his latest performance Thursday against the Dodgers wasn't spectacular -- he allowed three earned runs and eight hits over five innings while walking two batters, hitting two more and striking out four -- but it was a stark improvement on his last outing, when he set team records for hits and runs allowed in a single game.
That is, at least, what manager Buddy Bell said. It's what catcher Alberto Castillo said, too. Most importantly, though, it's what Greinke said.
"I felt really good out there," he said. "Especially since we won the game, I'm satisfied with it. I think I pitched real good.
"I'm pretty confident after an outing like this."
And Greinke's confidence does not go unmerited, for while his line was hardly a thing of beauty, it could have been much worse. But the 21-year-old right-hander wriggled his way out of two bases-loaded jams -- with one out in the first, then with two outs in the fourth -- leaving a trio of Dodgers stranded each time.
Working out of his first-inning quagmire, Greinke said, was key to his success the rest of the night.
"I was like, all right, if they get some runs here who knows what's going to happen," he said. "But once I got out of that one, I felt like I could get out of any one. So that helped me for the future jams."
Make no mistake, Greinke did get himself in more trouble. He allowed a baserunner in every inning but the fifth, and left runners at third base three times. His pitch count, too, soared. After one inning, it already stood at 26; after two, 42; after three, 64; and after four, 96. In all, he threw 111 pitches, a career high.
Even that problem, though, wasn't enough to deter Bell from praising his young pitcher.
"His pitch count got up there in the first three or four innings," Bell said, "but I thought he was much more aggressive. He committed to his pitches a lot more, and that's the Zack that I remember. That's the Zack that I saw [when I was with Cleveland]."
And Castillo couldn't stop talking about his batterymate. Even when Castillo was asked about his performance at the plate -- he batted 2-for-3 and drove in three runs -- all he could do was talk about Greinke.
"He was excited," Castillo said. "We talked before the game about how we were going to approach these guys and I think he did well. The only pitch he missed was the [home run]. ... But he still has all pitches. I think he'll be all right."
That is, after all, the hope. Greinke has started just 38 games in his career, and has pitched pretty well during most of them. The only reason his recent bump in the road was magnified so much was because it was his first bump in the road.
But Greinke retooled his delivery, opting to let it all out rather than trying to be, as he put it, a "tricky, finesse" pitcher.
"I wasn't thinking about what pitch was going to trick this guy," he said. "I was just thinking, 'Alberto called the pitch. Zack, throw the pitch and execute it all you can to execute it.'"
And while he managed just another no-decision, rest assured, Greinke did execute.
Source: http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/
His explanation?
"I just forgot to take it off when I came in and went straight to the food room," he said.
Fair enough. Greinke should be entitled to his numerous eccentricities, especially if he continues his march back from a disastrous five-start stretch during which he allowed 31 earned runs and 43 hits over just 23 2/3 innings of work.
Granted, his latest performance Thursday against the Dodgers wasn't spectacular -- he allowed three earned runs and eight hits over five innings while walking two batters, hitting two more and striking out four -- but it was a stark improvement on his last outing, when he set team records for hits and runs allowed in a single game.
That is, at least, what manager Buddy Bell said. It's what catcher Alberto Castillo said, too. Most importantly, though, it's what Greinke said.
"I felt really good out there," he said. "Especially since we won the game, I'm satisfied with it. I think I pitched real good.
"I'm pretty confident after an outing like this."
And Greinke's confidence does not go unmerited, for while his line was hardly a thing of beauty, it could have been much worse. But the 21-year-old right-hander wriggled his way out of two bases-loaded jams -- with one out in the first, then with two outs in the fourth -- leaving a trio of Dodgers stranded each time.
Working out of his first-inning quagmire, Greinke said, was key to his success the rest of the night.
"I was like, all right, if they get some runs here who knows what's going to happen," he said. "But once I got out of that one, I felt like I could get out of any one. So that helped me for the future jams."
Make no mistake, Greinke did get himself in more trouble. He allowed a baserunner in every inning but the fifth, and left runners at third base three times. His pitch count, too, soared. After one inning, it already stood at 26; after two, 42; after three, 64; and after four, 96. In all, he threw 111 pitches, a career high.
Even that problem, though, wasn't enough to deter Bell from praising his young pitcher.
"His pitch count got up there in the first three or four innings," Bell said, "but I thought he was much more aggressive. He committed to his pitches a lot more, and that's the Zack that I remember. That's the Zack that I saw [when I was with Cleveland]."
And Castillo couldn't stop talking about his batterymate. Even when Castillo was asked about his performance at the plate -- he batted 2-for-3 and drove in three runs -- all he could do was talk about Greinke.
"He was excited," Castillo said. "We talked before the game about how we were going to approach these guys and I think he did well. The only pitch he missed was the [home run]. ... But he still has all pitches. I think he'll be all right."
That is, after all, the hope. Greinke has started just 38 games in his career, and has pitched pretty well during most of them. The only reason his recent bump in the road was magnified so much was because it was his first bump in the road.
But Greinke retooled his delivery, opting to let it all out rather than trying to be, as he put it, a "tricky, finesse" pitcher.
"I wasn't thinking about what pitch was going to trick this guy," he said. "I was just thinking, 'Alberto called the pitch. Zack, throw the pitch and execute it all you can to execute it.'"
And while he managed just another no-decision, rest assured, Greinke did execute.
Source: http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/
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