True to form, whatever is on Zack Greinke’s mind as he prepares to start Game 1 of the Astros-Twins wild card series Tuesday afternoon is known only to Zack Greinke.
The socially reticent righthander was not available for comment Monday — contrary to the custom for starting pitchers the day before playoff games — regarding the approach he will take to right a rocky month of September that has been short on wins and the pitch command that has characterized his career.
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Greinke entered September with a win against the Rangers but has lost three games with a no-decision over the last three weeks. He has failed to make it into the sixth inning of his last three starts and allowed four homers with a 6.08 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP for the month.
Catcher Martin Maldonado said fastball command has been a recent issue for Greinke, and manager Dusty Baker said Greinke perhaps has relied too much on the pitch in recent outings while trying to round his way back into form.
“No. 1, no matter how hard you throw, is fastball command. It sets up everything else,” Baker said. “I would like to see him throw a few more changeups because he’s been kind of fastball-happy, trying to find the fastball command, and that’s usually not Zack’s problem.
“But everybody goes through periods of command problems. I’ve got full confidence in Zack.”
Greinke has not pitched against the Twins since 2017 and has had mixed success against Minnesota and at Target Field. He is 5-9 with a 4.64 ERA on his career against Minnesota and 1-4 in 10 starts at Target Field since the outdoor stadium opened in 2010.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, however, remains wary of Greinke’s potential.
“Greinke is as tough as they come,” Baldelli said. “I remember him as a young pitcher and a tremendously talented guy who can do some really funny things with the baseball and play tricks on people that you don’t normally see on a baseball field. We know he’s tough.”
Greinke’s last playoff start came in Game 7 of the World Series against the Nationals. He took a shutout into the seventh inning before allowing a one-out home run to Anthony Rendon. After a walk to Juan Soto, he was pulled after 80 pitches and the Astros leading 2-1. Will Harris came on to face Howie Kendrick, and well, the Nationals are defending World Series champions.
Twins veterans like Nelson Cruz were reticent Monday to speculate on what to expect from Greinke, noting the righthander has revamped his game while spending most of the last decade in the National League.
“He’s a great pitcher,” said Twins first baseman Miguel Sano. “I know he doesn’t throw too hard, so I have to have patience and let the ball travel and try to find good pitches to hit.”
That ability to adapt, said Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, is what has enabled Greinke to continue thriving as his velocity has dropped.
“He’s been able to evolve,” Bregman said. “He may not have the same velocity he once had, but the guy makes adjustments and knows how to execute pitches and what pitches will work when.
“It doesn’t matter if he’s throwing 97 or 87 or 91 or whatever he’s throwing. He knows how to pitch.”
As for how Greinke plans to approach the task at hand, that’s known only to him.
“Who knows what Zack is going to bring?” Maldonado said. “He might (throw) all the pitches from the mound. (He) might give the signals. Who knows?”
david.barron@chron.com
twitter.com/dfbarron
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