Monday State Sports Briefs: Greinke looks to win back-to-back starts

• Milwaukee Brewers

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Zack Greinke will try to win back-to-back starts for the first time in almost two months, when the Milwaukee Brewers host Saint Louis tonight.

Greinke was 0-2 in his last five starts until last Wednesday night, when he struck out nine in six-and-two-thirds innings of a victory over the Chicago Cubs. Greinke is 8-4 with an ERA of four-and-a-half. The Cardinals will send veteran right-hander Chris Carpenter to the mound. He’s 6-7 with a three-point-six-eight ERA. He’s coming off a no-decision against Houston last Wednesday in which he struck out eight in seven innings, giving up two runs on eight hits. Ryan Braun’s had a hot bat lately, but he’s only .174 lifetime against Carpenter. And Prince Fielder is batting just .250 against Carpenter with two homers in 16 career at-bats. Milwaukee has a two-and-a-half game lead over Saint Louis in the National League Central. The Brewers have won six straight. The Cards have won four-of-their-last-six over the same teams Milwaukee faced in that span – Houston and the Chicago Cubs.

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The Brewers said today those who buy full season tickets or 20-game packages for next year will be able to buy playoff tickets this fall, should the occasion arise. Team vice president Rick Schlesinger said the demand for post-season tickets far exceeds the supply. So the team announced its plans today. Current season-ticket holders are guaranteed the chance to buy playoff seats. Those who buy new full-season tickets for next year can get the opportunity to buy seats for all post-season contests this year, including the World Series. Those who get 20-game packages can have a chance to buy seats for the divisional and League Championship Series, but not the World Series. More information on both plans is available on-line at Brewers.com.

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In the Midwest League, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers will play at Burlington again tonight. It’s where the Rattlers lost 5-3 yesterday. Cedar Rapids was hosting Beloit this afternoon. The Snappers were down 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Beloit starts the new week in fourth in the Western Division, four games behind co-leaders Kane County and Quad Cities. Wisconsin is in sixth place, eight games out of first. Dayton and Lansing share the Eastern Division lead by four games over Fort Wayne and Great Lakes. Kane County plays at Quad Cities tonight. Peoria is at Clinton. Dayton plays at Bowling Green. Lansing hosts Lake County. Great Lakes is at Fort Wayne. And South Bend hosts West Michigan.

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In the Northwoods League, there are only two weeks left in the regular season – and three teams remain within a game of first place in the South Division. The La Crosse Loggers have a one-game advantage over Waterloo and Green Bay. La Crosse lost at Madison 5-4 last night. Green Bay gained some ground with a 10-6 home victory over Eau Claire. And Waterloo crushed Battle Creek at home, 14-4. All those series continue tonight. The Wisconsin Woodchucks are at Wisconsin Rapids again, after the ‘Chucks pulled out a 4-3 victory in 10 innings last night. Alexandria still leads the North Division by two-and-a-half games over Saint Cloud. Those teams will play tonight at Saint Cloud. Duluth is at Thunder Bay. Mankato plays at Brainerd. And Rochester hosts Willmar.

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Green Bay Packers tight end Spencer Havner says he’ll return to his old spot at linebacker, if that’s what it takes to make the team. The Packers have a big roster of tight ends this year, including Jermichael Finley and rookies Ryan Taylor and D.J. Williams. But the pickings are slim at inside linebacker, after Nick Barnett and Brandon Chillar were cut last week for salary cap purposes. Havner was a standout at linebacker at UCLA, and in his early years in the pros. But in 2009, his career got a boost when he moved to tight end. He played for Detroit last season until he was cut in the middle of the year. The Packers picked him up again last November, but he was later put on injured reserve. Due to rules involving the new bargaining agreement, Havner cannot practice at training camp until Thursday – and he says he’s itching to get going, and compete for a roster spot.

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The Green Bay Packers will hold their first full-scale practice with pads tonight at training camp. Under the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, teams had to wait three days from the start of camp to put on the pads. The Packers had workouts without pads the previous two nights. Tackle Derek Sherrod, the team’s first round draft choice, practiced at left guard the past two nights with the Packers’ first stringers. He has never played that position – but he’s getting a chance to start there, now that Daryn Colledge has moved on to the Arizona Cardinals. Third-year pro T.J. Lang is also a candidate for that spot.

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Wisconsin’s two boxers in the U.S. Olympic Trials both won their quarter-final bouts in the winner’s bracket yesterday. Luis Feliciano of Milwaukee defeated Isaac Torres of Mission Texas 23-14 at 123 pounds. And at 165, Luis Arias of Milwaukee won a decision over Edgar Alvarado of San Bernadino, California 20-16. The double-elimination tournament continues today in Mobile Alabama.

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