Zack Greinke Scratched From Start

For those of you tuning in to the Royals later today, you’ll notice the scheduled starter, Zack Greinke, will be replaced by Anthony Lerew. Greinke tweaked his shoulder while fielding a bunt in his last start at Seattle. At the time, he took a couple of warm up throws after and was able to continue, eventually finishing seven innings.

The Royals are using the term “precautionary” and say he should be able to make his next start on Friday back in Kansas City against Oakland. Considering Gil Meche hasn’t pitched since May 25 and Luke Hochevar‘s last start was June 11 (and neither have done any rehab assignments while on the DL), I really hope this isn’t a bigger problem than it’s being reported as.

Maybe the Royals aren’t going to make the playoffs this year, but Bruce Chen, Lerew, and the bullpen can only fill in so long before they become overworked. We’ll definitely keep an eye on this and remain optimistic. Greinke has no significant injury history and is generally regarded as “injury-proof” based on his mechanics (and it’s notable that the issue came as a result of a fielding play and not any pitching motion.)

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