Greinke effective as reliever in first appearance off IL
Activated ahead of Sunday’s regular-season finale against the A’s at Minute Maid Park, Zack Greinke made his first appearance out of the bullpen since he was with the Royals in 2007.
Greinke entered in the seventh inning and pitched two scoreless frames before allowing a two-run homer in the ninth. Manager Dusty Baker said the Astros believe Greinke can be effective as a reliever in the postseason.
“He was real good for two innings. We might have to limit him to that,” Baker said. “We gave him time to warm up much like wedo( Cristian) Javier, so we think that we’ve found a place to put him in the game. He was exceptionally sharp for a guy that hadn’t been out there in a while other than the Triple-A assignment (this past Thursday).”
On Sept. 21, Greinke landed on the injured list due to neck soreness and missed his scheduled start against the A’s in Oakland. He tossed two scoreless innings in a rehab assignment with Class AAA Sugar Land on Thursday as a precursor to his reinstatement.
Skeeters routed in season finale
Brett Conine was ambushed for 10 runs (six earned) in 22⁄3 innings Sunday as the Sugar Land Skeeters lost their season finale 14-4 to the Round Rock Express at Constellation Field.
Charles Leblanc tagged Conine for a three-run homer in the second inning and a two-run shot in the third. Round Rock scored five runs in both innings. Taylor Jones had two of Sugar Land’s six hits and an RBI. C.J. Hinojosa, Marty Cortes and Michael Papierski also drove in runs for the Skeeters.
The Skeeters finished 75-55 in their first season as the Class AAA farm team of the Astros. It was also their first year in affiliated minor league baseball.