Greinke has bad day on mound but Brewers still win 13-7

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GLENDALE, Ariz. - Zack Greinke was shelled for six runs in three innings of his final exhibition start. But the Milwaukee Brewers still managed to beat the Chicago White Sox 13-7.

Until yesterday, Greinke had allowed just two earned runs in 19-and-a-third innings. It was windy, but Greinke blamed only himself for quote, “getting behind in the count, throwing meatballs, and letting them crush the ball.” But Brewers’ manager Ron Roenicke said it was Greinke’s only bad start of the spring – and he’s sure that Greinke will be back-on-track once the regular season begins this weekend. Several regulars for both teams did not play. Dayan Viciedo hit his second homer in as many days for Chicago. Brooks Conrad and Racine native Jason Jaramillo homered for the Brewers, who are now 15-14-2 in Cactus League play.

It was the White Sox’ final game before heading north. The Brewers will split their squads today. Their “B” team will play the Chicago Cubs in Mesa this afternoon, while their “A” team heads to Chase Field in Phoenix to play the Diamondbacks tonight.

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Unless something happens the next couple days, the Brewers will have a totally healthy roster going into Friday’s regular season opener against Saint Louis at Miller Park. Manager Ron Roenicke confirmed yesterday that right-fielder Corey Hart and starter Shaun Marcum will start the season on the Milwaukee roster. Hart had knee surgery just over a month ago, and Marcum had an inflamed throwing shoulder for most of Spring Training. But both players have recovered nicely. Hart took a day off yesterday after some solid hitting in five minor league games. Marcum passed a pitching test in a minor league game last Friday. Roenicke says it will be nice to start the regular season with a full team – unlike a year ago, when Hart, Zack Greinke, and Jonathan Lucroy all started the year on the disabled list.

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The Milwaukee Brewers will play their first exhibition game in a Major League stadium tonight, when they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Most of Milwaukee’s starters will be in that contest. Left-hander Randy Wolf will face Arizona right-hander Josh Collmenter. Wolf is 3-1 this spring with a four-point-seven-eight ERA. Collmenter is 0-3 with an ERA of just under 10. Shortstop Alex Gonzalez will play in that game after taking a couple days off. Meanwhile, Mat Gamel, Nyjer Morgan, and Jonathan Lucroy will join prospects from AA Huntsville in a split-squad game this afternoon against the Chicago Cubs in Mesa Arizona. Huntsville’s Kyle Heckathorn will start against Chicago’s Travis Wood, who’s 1-2 this spring. The Brewers are 15-14-2 this spring.

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Brewers’ right-hander Zack Greinke smiles when he’s asked about the monster contract that San Francisco starter Matt Cain received yesterday. But Greinke says he won’t talk about his own deal until it’s completed. Greinke becomes a free agent at the end of the season, and the Brewers would love to have him back. That may or may not be a problem, after Cain agreed to a five-year, $112.5 million contract extension. It’ll make Cain the highest-paid right-handed pitcher in baseball history – and it will most certainly have an impact on Greinke’s negotiations. The players’ association says Greinke has not hired an agent yet – and he has not said whether he’ll be open to continue negotiations once the regular season begins on Friday. Greinke will start in Game-Two against Saint Louis on Saturday at Miller Park.

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