Kansas City's Ross Gload (11) is congratulated after his solo home run in the eighth inning. The Royals routed the Rangers, 8-1, Monday in Arlington, Texas.

Arlington, Texas ? Zack Greinke is making the most of his second chance in the Kansas City Royals’ rotation this season.

The 23-year-old right-hander allowed five hits in five shutout innings for his first win as a starter since April, and the Royals beat the Texas Rangers, 8-1, Monday night.

Featuring a fastball in the mid-to-high 90s, Greinke (6-5) struck out four without a walk in his 10th start of the season.

Greinke, who opened the season in the rotation before being moved to the bullpen in early May after a series of ineffective starts, hadn’t won as a starter since April 10 at Toronto.

“My stuff’s a lot better,” Greinke said. “People say confidence can bring success, but you have to do good first in order to get confident.”

Manager Buddy Bell moved Greinke back into the rotation on Aug. 24.

“Maybe we should have done it sooner,” Bell said. “The kid keeps throwing good. He maintained his stuff the whole time. He’s where we wanted to take him, and I thought he had a little bit left at the end.”

Ross Gload homered, and Alex Gordon had three hits and four RBIs for the Royals, who matched a season high with 16 hits. Gordon is 6-for-14 with three homers and seven RBIs in his last three games.

With one more win, the Royals would avoid their fourth straight 100-loss season.