Lynch (shoulder) covered 2.1 innings and struck out six while allowing two earned runs on four hits and one walk in his first rehab start Tuesday for Double-A Northwest Arkansas.
Lynch has resided on the Royals' 15-day injured list all season with a left shoulder strain, so his appearance Tuesday was his first at any level during the 2023 campaign. Aside from serving up a two-run, two-out home run in the second inning, Lynch was generally sharp while tossing 59 pitches (37 strikes) in the outing. He'll likely need one or two more rehab starts to build his pitch count up to the 75-to-90 range before he's cleared to rejoin the big-league rotation.