Zack Greinke has looked like two different pitchers over his initial two starts of the season. He'll try to recapture the form from his first start this evening when his Milwaukee Brewers continue a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Set to become a free agent this offseason, the former Cy Young Award winner won his season debut on April 7 against the Cardinals. Greinke tossed seven scoreless innings in that one, scattering four hits and striking out seven without a walk.
However, in the same week he ended contract extension talks with the Brewers, Greinke was pounded for eight runs in a loss to the Cubs on Thursday in Chicago. The right-hander was tagged for nine hits and a walk in just 3 2/3 innings, striking out five.
"I know some of the balls were up," Greinke said. "With two strikes, I didn't make very good pitches, but besides that, there's not much I thought I could have done differently."
The 28-year-old will make his third career start versus the Dodgers and is 1-0 against them with a 3.00 earned run average.
Greinke's Brewers will get a look at an old face tonight in Chris Capuano, who is coming off his first victory in a Dodgers uniform.
The southpaw had gotten a no-decision at San Diego on April 7 as he walked five batters over 4 2/3 innings, but beat the Pirates on Thursday, giving up two runs on six hits without a walk while striking out seven over 5 1/3 frames.
"I had great movement on my pitches early," said Capuano. "The first win of the season is nice to get."
Capuano, now 33, was with Milwaukee from 2004-10, though he did not pitch in the majors for two seasons between 2008-09, and went 44-48 with a 4.34 ERA in 139 games (120 starts) with the Brewers. He is 1-0 against them in two starts with a 4.63 ERA.
Capuano takes the hill for the Dodgers one night after just their second loss in 11 games this season. Los Angeles lost Tuesday's opener in walk-off fashion, with Mat Gamel coming home and scoring the winning run with a great slide on George Kottaras' pinch-hit, two-run double in the bottom of the ninth.
Gamel also hit his first home run since 2009 and slid around A.J. Ellis' swipe tag after Kottaras took a Javy Guerra pitch into the gap in right-center field. The win snapped Milwaukee's four-game slide and Los Angeles' six-game win streak.
"Even when we got down, I thought we'd come back," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said.
Andre Ethier belted a two-run homer in defeat.
"It's a tough one to lose. I thought Guerra's stuff was fine," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "He just left the last one up."
The Brewers won four of six versus the Dodgers a season ago, taking three of the four played in Milwaukee.
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