KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Royals right-hander Zack Greinke noted last year that the only milestones he cares about involve his hitting, but with the universal designated hitter, his dreams of being a 10-10 guy — a pitcher who hits 10 home runs and steals 10 bases during a career in Major League Baseball — appear slim.
So Greinke likely wasn’t all that thrilled about moving up in the MLB career pitching record books during Wednesday’s 2-1 win over the Rangers.
Greinke pitched a gem in his 500th career start, allowing one run on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts over six innings. That helped the Royals end a four-game losing streak and finish their homestand with a 2-4 record.
The Royals’ other victorious pitcher during this homestand was also Greinke, who won last Friday’s series opener against the Oakland A’s.
Greinke tied Joe Niekro with the 47th-most starts in major league history. It was also Greinke’s 100th career start at Kauffman Stadium.
The victory helped the Royals reverse — for a game at least — a troubling trend. They had won just six of their previous 25 series finales this season. Now they’re 7-19.
A trio of rookies got the game’s first run for the Royals. With two outs in the opening inning, Bobby Witt Jr. singled and veteran Hunter Dozier followed with a double.
Rookie first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, called up from Triple-A Omaha this week, drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases. MJ Melendez singled to center, bringing home Witt, but the inning ended with Dozier being thrown out at the plate.
The only blemish against Greinke was a fifth-inning solo home run by Rangers center fielder Leody Taveras. But the Royals got that run right back when center fielder Kyle Isbel hit a 395-foot home run to right field to make it 2-1.
Relief pitchers Amir Garrett, Taylor Clarke and Scott Barlow each threw a scoreless inning and made sure that’s how the game ended.
Barlow picked up his 10th save of the season as the Royals improved to 27-47.
