Greinke’s durability a must for rotation
OAKLAND, Calif. — In an inning the Astros didn’t think he’d even pitch, Zack Greinke grew tired. His early season endurance and effectiveness can be troubling. Last year, he threw only 31⁄3 innings and 58 pitches during his first outing. In his four opening day starts that preceded this one, Greinke had allowed 17 earned runs in 182⁄3 innings. In his 2016 appearance, he allowed three homers. The Dodgers hit four against him in 2019.
On Thursday, Greinke started the sixth inning with 75 pitches. Chad Pinder poked his 76th into left field for a leadoff single. Enoli Paredes warmed in the bullpen. Pitching coach Brent Strom ambled for a mound visit as the top of Oakland’s order loomed. In the meeting, Greinke could be seen cracking a smile. What caused the hilarity remained a mystery postgame.
“I told (Strom) I felt a little tired, but I was still making all my pitches,” Greinke said after Houston’s 8-1 victory on opening day. “It didn’t matter if I was tired or not.”
The Astros want to give Greinke longer leashes this season. Some of the ire he vocalized last postseason — when he said the Astros “don’t seem to have confidence in my ability” — centered on his usage. He threw six innings or fewer in 17 of his first 22 regularseason starts with the Astros. Letting Greinke see a lineup for a third time almost never happened. This year, it may be essential.
For the Astros to absorb the innings increase associated with a 162-game season, Greinke must establish himself as a workhorse. He’s thrown 200 or more innings in four of his last six seasons. No one else in Houston’s rotation has broached 190. Lance McCullers Jr., Jose Urquidy and Cristian Javier haven’t eclipsed 140 as major leaguers. The rotation’s durability concerns, coupled with a crop of relievers with the same questions, put an onus on Greinke to devour as many innings as possible.
Thursday offered optimism Greinke is equipped for it. Manager Dusty Baker cautioned before the game that Greinke may only finish five innings. Strom said earlier this week that, in this first turn through the rotation, five innings could be considered a complete game for any of his starters.
Greinke had not thrown more than 88 pitches in any Grapefruit League game. He tossed 82 on Thursday under far more pressure. He faced one batter over the minimum, walked no one and yielded three hits. Just one garnered extra bases.
Greinke threw four pitches with excellent command. Of the 32 fourseam fastballs he threw, 14 were either called strikes or swung upon and missed. He elevated one to punch out Matt Olson and end the first inning — aligning with the Astros’ longheld philosophy to reside up in the zone.
Greinke induced just six swings and misses while striking out only four, but Oakland had an average exit velocity of just 91.4 mph on its balls in play. Weak contact and timely double plays aided him. Greinke had subpar command of his work-in-progress slider, but the ability to control his fastball, changeup and curveball offset it.
“I thought he looked great,” third baseman Alex Bregman said. “I thought he commanded the baseball to both sides of the plate, was all around the zone the whole night, competed and was keeping us on our toes and getting us plays. It was really fun to play behind him.”
Greinke needed 48 pitches to procure his first nine outs. After a 22-pitch third inning, it appeared Greinke would align with Baker’s pregame premonition — five and out.
“I felt like I was getting tired in the fourth inning, but all my pitches were still good,” Greinke said. “I guess that was better than last year. Last year, when I got tired, my pitches got worse. But today I kept my pitches sharp (and) located them good.”
After Pinder singled in the sixth, Greinke spotted an 0-1 changeup down and in to Elvis Andrus. The nine-hole hitter chopped it to Jose Altuve at second base. Altuve turned the double play himself. Mark Canha, the leadoff hitter, came up. Baker allowed the matchup to happen for a third time. Greinke gave him a slider and three fourseamers. Canha lifted the final fastball harmlessly to right field.
“He threw some quality pitches tonight and he was kind of in midseason form,” Baker said. “We were hoping he’d go five, but he indeed went six.”