Greinke set to make big league debut Saturday at Oakland
May 19, 2004 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
OMAHA â Zack Greinke was scheduled to start for the Omaha Royals Saturday afternoon at Tacoma. Instead, the 20-year old right-hander is now set to make his Major League debut pitching Saturday afternoon at Oakland, with Greinke squaring off against Barry Zito, the 2002 American League Cy Young Award winner.
The Kansas City Royals say Greinke, ranked by Baseball America as the team's top prospect entering this season, will join the parent club for the series opener in Oakland on Friday night. The transaction to add him to KC's roster is not expected to happen until Saturday.
Greinke made six starts for Omaha, going 1-1 and posting a 2.51 ERA. In three of his first five starts, a strict pitch count held him to four innings in each outing. However, Greinke turned in his longest, and possibly best stint of the season Monday night at Rosenblatt Stadium when he recorded his first Triple-A win in a 2-1 victory over the Fresno Grizzlies.
Rain delayed the start of the contest for one-hour-and-13 minutes and once it belatedly began, Greinke gave up one run on two hits and a hit batter in the first inning. But, after his teammates scored two runs in the bottom of the first to give Greinke the lead, he blanked Fresno over the next five frames. Greinke, who was Kansas City's first pick and the sixth overall selection in the 2002 draft out of Apopka High School in Florida, did not walk a batter Monday, while chalking up a season-high seven strikeouts and retiring ten straight batters at one point during his 83-pitch effort.
Overall with Omaha, Greinke pitched 28-and-two-thirds innings, allowing 8 earned runs on 25 hits. He walked just six batters, while striking out 23 and held opposing batters to a .225 average. In his three starts at Rosenblatt Stadium, the wunderkind went 1-0 with a 0.60 ERA, allowing just one run in fifteen innings at Omaha.
GOODBYE DAWLEY: Omaha is losing another pitcher off its roster. The Cleveland Indians claimed Joe Dawley off waivers today. Dawley had to be designated for assignment on May 16 so that Kansas City could add infielder Wilton Guerrero to its 40-man roster and call him up. It was hoped that the 32-year old right-hander would clear waivers and join Omaha tomorrow for the start of its eight-game road trip to Tacoma and Portland. Dawley went 1-2 with a 3.19 ERA in 9 appearances, including three spot starts, for Omaha. He's expected to be assigned to Triple-A Buffalo.
Pacific Coast League Stories from May 19, 2004
- Negro Leagues tribute, Family Fun Fest on tap for upcoming Beavers homestand - Portland Beavers
- Greinke set to make big league debut Saturday at Oakland - Omaha Storm Chasers
- Ruben Mateo Promoted To Pittsburgh - Nashville Sounds
- 'Topes top Trappers, 10-4 - Edmonton Trappers
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