Bad day for Kansas City Royals pitchers: Zack Greinke’s start & Daniel Lynch injury news

Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor was just four years old when Kansas City Royals starter Zack Greinke made his MLB debut.

Naylor, a talented youngster, got the best of the 20-year veteran on Tuesday. Naylor hit two home runs to propel the Guardians to a 5-1 victory at Progressive Field.

In the third inning, Naylor gave the Guardians an early 1-0 lead. He laced a 90.4 mph fastball over the right-field wall. The blast traveled 430 feet and had a 109.4 mph exit velocity.

Naylor finished 2 for 3 with three RBIs. It was his first multi-home run game of his career.

“He’s got four homers, and three of them are against us,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We just need to make quality pitches. I know he’s got power and I’ve seen the minor-league numbers. He certainly looks like he has a good swing.”

Grienke, who dealt with a shoulder issue earlier this month, allowed four runs in five innings of work. He allowed four hits and struck out one batter in the outing.

“I’ve still got to look back at Naylor to see his scouting report,” Greinke said. “I felt pretty good going in, and obviously it didn’t work out very good.”

Grienke threw 71 pitches and relied primarily on his fastball. He collected 13 swings and 10 strikes with the pitch.

The Royals collected five hits. Third baseman Nicky Lopez added the lone run in the fifth inning. KC was 1 for 4 with runners in scoring position and left four runners on base.

Guardians starter Aaron Civale earned his fourth victory. He pitched eight innings and allowed one run while generating 17 called strikes and eight whiffs.

“He has three to four pitches and nothing really goes straight,” Lopez said. “The cutter, four-seam and his curveball. Can’t cover both sides of the plate. Got to give him at least one side of the plate. Just got to see it up and put a good swing on it.”

The Royals had a late scoring opportunity. In the eighth inning, KC had runners on first and third with no outs but came up empty. Designated hitter Maikel Garcia hit into a double play, and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. grounded out against Civale.

“He made a lot of good pitches today,” Quatraro said. “A lot of cutters on the edge. He didn’t give us much to hit, mistake-wise, and they turned a nice double play.”

The Royals fell to 29-74.

Missed the start of the series?

Game 1: Ryan Yarbrough tosses gem as Royals snap five-game losing streak

Stadium news: John Sherman outlines new timeline for stadium project, naming location

Here are more notables from Tuesday’s game:

Nicky Lopez ties game in fifth inning

The Royals pulled even with the Guardians in the fifth. Lopez hit an RBI single to drive home second baseman Michael Massey.

Massey reached with a one-out single off Civale. He stole second base and raced to third on a throwing error. Lopez hit a 77 mph curveball the opposite way to put KC on the board.

“Nicky took him the other way,” Quatraro said. “They had played him to pull a little bit, so the shortstop hole was open.”

Lopez is hitting .291 (32 for 110) at Progressive Field. It’s his highest average at any ballpark (minimum 50 at-bats).

“I like hitting here. It’s a good hitter’s park,” Lopez said. “(You can) see it well here. I like it.”

Royals pitcher Daniel Lynch IV has injury setback

Daniel Lynch IV — who recently added the IV to his jersey in a special tribute — will undergo additional testing on his left shoulder. The Royals decided to shut down his activity after he was unable to complete a recent bullpen session.

Lynch is on the 15-day injured list with a left shoulder strain. He also dealt with a previous shoulder injury earlier this season. The injury sidelined him for nearly two months to start the 2023 campaign.

“He had a setback yesterday and was unable to finish his pen,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We shut him down and we are going to get some follow-up testing in the next couple of days.”

This season, Lynch is 3-4 with a 4.69 ERA. He made nine starts with 52 1/3 innings of work.

What’s next: The Royals conclude their three-game series against the Guardians. Rookie pitcher Alec Marsh will start Wednesday afternoon against Gavin Williams.