KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ All these years and multiple teams later, Zack Greinke just keeps dealing and frustrating opposing lineups.
On Saturday night, the former Royals ace and current member of the embarrassingly-stacked Houston Astros pitching rotation made his first start in Kansas City since 2017.
Greinke earned his first win as pitcher for the visiting club against the Royals as the Royals dropped the second game of the three-game set by a score of 6-1 in front of an announced 20,716 at Kauffman Stadium. The loss also snapped a string of four consecutive series won by the Royals, their longest streak since June 2017.
The Astros (97-53) remain in the chase for the best record in the majors, and they'll try to sweep the series on Sunday afternoon.
Whit Merrifield led the meager offense for the Royals (55-94). Merrifield, the major league hits leader, had two doubles and drove in their only run of the night. Alex Gordon also had two hits, while Nicky Lopez had a hit and a run scored.
Greinke entered the night 0-2 in four starts as an opposing starter at Kauffman Stadium despite a respectable 3.24 ERA in those outings.
Saturday, he held his former club to one run on six hits and no walks over six innings, and he struck out seven.
Greinke, a former first-round draft pick of the Royals (sixth overall in 2002), spent the first seven years of his major league career with the Royals after having come up through their farm system. He won the 2009 American League Cy Young Award and was an AL All-Star that same season for the Royals.
The Royals traded Greinke to the Milwaukee Brewers in the winter of 2010 in the deal that brought Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi to the Royals. Since leaving the Royals, Greinke has earned five more All-Star accolades and has played for the Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks and Astros.
Royals starting pitcher Mike Montgomery (3-9) on Saturday allowed two runs on five hits and five walks in five innings, plus four batters in the sixth.
Royals left-handed reliever Gabe Speier, one of the September call-ups from the minors, allowed three runs in the eighth inning on a home run by likely AL Rookie of the Year Yordan Alvarez, who now has 25 home runs and 75 RBIs this season.
The Royals conclude the series and the three-game homestand on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Jakob Junis (9-13, 5.06) will start for the Royals opposite Astros left-hander Wade Miley (13-5, 3.74).
