Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The decision haunting Houston baseball fans for four months hasn’t hounded Zack Greinke. In the seventh inning of the World Series’ seventh game, with the Astros ahead by a run in their home ballpark, Greinke was yanked with the tying run aboard. He was untouchable for six innings, the best showing of his still-brief Houston tenure.

“Let two guys get on base, and that was just kind of how I was used ever since I got to the team,” Greinke said Saturday.

Greinke’s arrival in July gave the Astros a third big-name starter behind workhorses Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. Rarely, though, was the six-time All-Star relied upon for a long outing.

Greinke threw more than six innings only thrice in 10 regular-season appearances as an Astro. He tossed more than 95 pitches just five times. A wide division lead and the two flamethrowers who preceded him allowed the tactic to work.

After Greinke’s arrival on July 31, the Astros’ lead in the American League West never got lower than 6½ games. Cole and Verlander were embroiled in a head-to-head race for the American League Cy Young Award. If both were pitching well, former manager A.J. Hinch didn’t want to show a preference, so both were permitted to pitch deep.

Greinke appeared on a different plan, one that manifested itself in Game 7 against the Washington Nationals. He had yielded only one baserunner before Anthony Rendon struck a one-out solo home run in the seventh. A walk to Juan Soto — aided by a questionable call on a 2-1 changeup — ended Greinke’s night. The Nationals scored five times after his departure, beginning the Astros’ brutal offseason.

“I just (pitched) my five innings, six innings and let the bullpen do the rest,” Greinke said. “That’s kind of how I was being used. It was kind of expected.”

Expectations will be altered in 2020 for the enigmatic 36-year-old righthander. Greinke is now elevated to Verlander’s co-ace in a rotation that must cope with Cole’s absence and absorb uncertainty in the fourth and fifth spots.

Allowing Greinke to operate with a longer leash is nothing new. He has thrown at least 200 innings in five of his last six seasons. In 23 starts with Arizona last season, Greinke threw more than six innings 12 times.

Pitching deep is impossible without pitching well. Greinke reported to his first Astros spring training 10 days later than his fellow pitchers and catchers. He has a noted disdain for the monotony of spring.

Manager Dusty Baker gave Greinke’s odd timing his blessing, but skepticism exists even from Greinke that he will be at full strength for the start of the regular season.

Last year, when he reported to Diamondbacks spring training two days behind his fellow pitchers, Greinke endured a wretched beginning. After his first four starts, Greinke sported an ERA of 5.79. Opponents had an .866 OPS against him and struck eight home runs in 231/3 innings.

“I just try to get healthy (in spring training) and try to get all my pitches working, about like a start or so before the season,” Greinke said. “That’s in a perfect world. Sometimes over the last couple years, I’ve been not quite ready even when the season starts. But it just happens.”

During his hiatus, Greinke worked out at Orlando-based Rollins College, “did some running” and threw a few bullpen sessions. On Sunday, his first full day in camp, Greinke faced Yuli Gurriel, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa and Garrett Stubbs in a well-attended live batting practice session. Correa took him deep to left field, after which Greinke grumbled, “Aw, man.” Stubbs stung a few balls, too.

“He can pitch. He can really pitch,” Baker said. “He can get all his pitches over at any time. He reminds me of the modern-day Greg Maddux. He doesn’t have high velocity, but he has high control and savvy of how he wants to pitch and what he wants to do.”

Greinke’s one stated spring training goal is to solve the regression of his slider. He’s thrown the pitch at least 16 percent of the time in each of the past four seasons. In 2016, opponents hit .191 against it. In 2017, it induced a 44.5 percent whiff rate.

Last season? The slider was knocked around for a .308 batting average. It generated a swing and miss just 27.2 percent of the time.

“Hopefully, I could get it better. But more importantly, (I’m) just trying to keep the other pitches as good as they were the last couple years and not let them get worse,” Greinke said. “If the slider could get better at the same time, that’d be nice. But it’s probably not going to happen.”

chandler.rome@chron.com

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