Zack Greinke (40, Kansas City Royals) was frustrated again. The right-hander started the Royals’ 2023 Major League Baseball home game against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S., on May 25 and pitched well, allowing one run on four hits (one home run) in five innings with five strikeouts and one walk.

Greinke was pulled in the top of the 안전놀이터 sixth inning with the game tied 1-1. However, the bullpen gave up back-to-back runs, resulting in a no-decision. Greinke has just one win in 11 games this season. He signed a one-year, $15 million contract to stay with his family, but his struggles are evident. His fastball has dropped a lot, and he’s struggling.

Still, he pitched well on this day. His fastball sits just above 90 mph, but he relied on his changeup, cutter, and other pitches. In the first inning, he struck out Javier Baez on a 78 mph slider for a double play.

In the second and third innings, he struck out three. That’s when his low-80s fastball came into play. He was able to work the strike count and work his changeup, or he was able to work the strike count with his changeup and work his fastball the other way around. His only run came on a solo shot off Riley Greene in the fourth inning. With a 2B2S count, he threw a 90-mph fastball high and away for a solo shot to right field.

But he wasn’t rattled. With two outs, he fouled off Akil Badu on an 89-mph fastball to third base. Two batters later in the fifth, he faced back-to-back singles but induced Javier Baez to fly out to right field on a full count at 90.2 mph. It was a full-count pitch.

Greinke won 11 games in 2021 with the Houston Astros before returning to his hometown of Kansas City for the 2022 season and winning four games. This season, he’s 1-5 with a 3.68 ERA in 11 starts and a 4.55 ERA, adding just five wins in two years. While there are still plenty of games to go, it’s clear that the team and Greinke don’t have much synergy.

Greinke has 224 career wins, which ranks second on the major league active wins list. Justin Verlander (40, New York Mets, 246 wins) is the same age as Greinke, but he’s still a stud and has recently started moving the win column again. Max Scherzer (39, New York Mets, 204 wins) and Clayton Kershaw (35, Los Angeles Dodgers, 203 wins) are past their prime, but still racking up wins. For Gronkowski, it’s a season of crunch time and the passage of time is palpable.