Zack Greinke was ready to bat after Royals lost their DH, but he wasn’t given the chance

It’s been more than two years since Royals pitcher Zack Greinke had an opportunity to step into the batter’s box, but it appeared he might get the chance Sunday.

The Royals lost their designated hitter early in their 8-4 loss to the Phillies in Philadelphia when catcher Salvador Perez was hit by a pitch. Designated hitter Freddy Fermin replaced Perez behind the plate meaning the pitcher’s spot was back in the Royals’ lineup.

In the fourth inning, outfielder MJ Melendez batted with two outs when Greinke stepped out on deck at Citizens Bank Park. Fans were hoping Greinke would get a chance to hit against Phillies starter Taijuan Walker. So was Greinke.

“I was excited to do it. Didn’t get to. I was excited to. I thought Taijuan might give me a couple pitches to hit,” Greinke said. “And I haven’t swung the bat very much, so it probably wouldn’t have been that good. But it usually takes me like a month or so to get semi-dialed it, so it wouldn’t have been the easiest.”

Melendez grounded out to first base ending the top of the fourth, so Greinke went back out to pitch rather than hit.

Greinke got the first two batters in the bottom of the half of the frame, then gave up a single to Johan Rojas. Greinke quickly picked Rojas off first and headed back to the dugout with his spot in the lineup due up first in the fifth inning.

“I thought I was going to hit, but it didn’t happen,” said Greinke, a career .225 hitter.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro instead had pinch-hitter Edward Olivares bat for Greinke. Olivares flied out to left.

Quatraro said there was just one scenario in which Greinke, a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, would have been allowed to step to the plate Sunday.

“The only way he was gonna hit was if MJ had hit a homer to give us the lead the inning before, Zack would have hit with two outs and nobody on before he went out to pitch,” Quatraro said. “But once he got through the fourth inning, with where we were and what we knew we had in the bullpen, we had to take him out.”

Greinke made a case to hit in the fifth inning but he couldn’t persuade Quatraro.

“He understands. It would have been great,” Quatraro said. “I would have loved to see him hit. I wish we were up 7-2 and we could have let him hit three times. That would have been great, but we’ve got to take a chance to win the game.”

With the National League adopting the designated hitter in 2022, pitchers rarely if ever have a chance to bat these days.

Greinke has previously stated his biggest statistical career goals are 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases. He remains one shy of both, so being a 10-10 guy may not be in the cards.

It’s fair to say Greinke is not a fan of the universal DH or other new rules in Major League Baseball.

“Every change in baseball has been disappointing to me over the years,” Greinke said. “I would have had a couple more outs if the shift was still around today. Can’t hit anymore. The strike zone has gotten smaller. So I mean, it’s been a lot of upsetting changes.”