ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke goes 5 innings in tuneup

Mar 13, 2017, 3:56 PM | Updated: 5:33 pm

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zack Greinke (21) throws against the Colorado Rockies during ...

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zack Greinke (21) throws against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning of a baseball game, Monday, April 4, 2016, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

(AP Photo/Matt York)

Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke gave up a run and two hits to his first two batters during a side-field tuneup at Salt River Fields on Monday before cruising past the next 14 batters.

When the 33-year-old’s day was over, Greinke had thrown five innings to a mix of minor- and major-leaguers, including 41 strikes on 56 total pitchers, reports MLB.com’s John Schlegel.

Greinke, who pitched on Arizona’s off-day to keep him on a five-day calendar, struck out seven and saw his fastball top out at 90-91, per Schlegel. That was a tick or two better than his last outing, when he topped out just below 90 mph.

The D-backs ace last pitched Wednesday against Team Mexico. He went 2.2 innings and allowed six hits, two earned runs while striking out one.

“Each outing’s gone a little better, which is good,” Greinke told Schlegel. “A lot of times I’ll take a step back in one of the outings where it just goes really bad, but so far it’s been better each time.”

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