Kansas City Royals’ Zack Greinke is impressive in minor-league rehab outing with Omaha

Kansas City Royals veteran pitcher Zack Greinke pitched for the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers on Sunday in a minor-league rehab assignment as he works his way back to the major-league rotation.

Greinke, a former Cy Young Award winner who the club re-acquired as a free agent this winter, has been on the injured list since May 30 with a right flexor strain.

He pitched five scoreless innings and allowed one hit against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Greinke struck out four, didn’t walk a batter and made it through five innings on 49 pitches (33 strikes). He retired 13 batters in a row to start the game before he gave up a single in the fifth inning.

Outfielder Edward Olivares and catcher Cam Gallagher are also currently on rehab assignments with the Storm Chasers. Olivares started in right field and went 0 for 1 with three walks and two runs scored in the game, while Gallagher started at catcher and went 1 for 3 with a home run and a walk.

This season in the majors, Greinke has gone 0-4 with a 5.05 ERA in 10 starts. He struck out 25, walked 10 and posted a .290 opponents batting average. He also allowed seven home runs in 51 2/3 innings.

However, Greinke’s results had taken a turn for the worse prior to his IL stint.

In his first six starts, he allowed three runs or fewer and pitched at least five innings. In those starts, he posted an ERA of 2.67, struck out 10 and walked just three. He also gave up just two home runs during that stretch. Opponents batted .270 against him with a .291 OBP. He was a victim of poor run support early in the season.

In his last four starts, he registered an ERA of 9.50 with 15 strikeouts, seven walks and five home runs allowed. Opponents batted .321 against him with a .371 OBP during that latest stretch.