Greinke escapes jam in 2nd spring start, Arizona tops SD

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Zack Greinke escaped a bases-loaded jam in his second
start as Arizona’s ace and has yet to allow a run in spring training.

Greinke pitched three scoreless innings and the Diamondbacks beat the San Diego
Padres 8-4 Wednesday.

Despite the results, Greinke wasn’t satisfied with his performance, saying he
felt too uncomfortable with runners on base.

“Just getting used to dealing with more complex situations and having to think
about more things and being able to put it all together,” he said. “Today was
a little quicker in my head than in the regular season. It was good just
experiencing that and so hopefully better next time.”

Greinke, who signed a $206.5 million, six-year free agent contract with
Arizona, allowed four hits with no strikeouts or walks. He hasn’t permitted a
run in five innings this spring.

“He definitely had a plan today,” Arizona manager Chip Hale said. “I know he
and (pitching coach) Mike (Butcher) talked about some stuff and he really
executed what he wanted to do. I thought the Padres hitters did a really good
job against him. But he did stem the tide there in the one inning, was able to
get out of it, which is classic Greinke.”

Greinke threw 38 pitches, 24 of them strikes. The Padres had the bases loaded
with one out in the second, but Greinke escaped with a popout and a groundout.

Hale wasn’t surprised Greinke found fault with his performance.

“He’s a smart guy,” Hale said, “and being a perfectionist like he is, he’s
always going to find something he can improve on.”

Colin Rea had his second strong outing in a bid to make the Padres’ rotation,
throwing three scoreless innings.

He struck out one and walked one.

MAKING HIS CASE

Brandon Drury hit a two-run home run for the Diamondbacks off the Padres’
Johnny Hellweg. In six games, the 23-year-old Drury — who can play second and
third base — is batting .438 with six RBIs. His homer was the first of the
spring. He’s part of a crowded competition for spots in the Arizona infield.

“There’s so many battles and Drury’s right in there with the other
infielders,” Hale said. “Sometimes we overlook him because we know he’s young
and he still needs some development, but it’s the second spring in a row where
he’s really opened a lot of eyes.”

STARTING TIME

Rea, a 25-year-old right-hander, made six starts for the Padres last season,
going 2-2 with a 4.26 ERA before being shut down in September as a precaution
due to elbow and forearm soreness. He has said he gained 20 pounds of muscle
during the offseason.

“I feel like I had pretty good angle to my fastball,” he said. “Not the
greatest command today with it, but throwing some good sinkers and even if they
were catching a little bit too much of the plate, they had life down in the
zone. Shoot, we made three or four diving plays (on defense) out there today.
That definitely helped.”

In five innings this spring, Rea has not given up a run. He’s allowed four
hits, striking out three and walking one.

TRAINING ROOM

Padres: Pitchers Kevin Quackenbush and Fernando Rodney, both bothered by sore
hamstrings, pitched to live batters on Tuesday and are expected to pitch in a
spring training game on Friday.

Diamondbacks: Infielder Jean Segura was scratched from the lineup with a sore
knee. Hale said it was nothing serious and that it occurred during a slide into
second base against the Padres on Tuesday. Segura had three hits in the game.
Outfielder Yasmany Tomas missed his third straight game with a sore knee. Hale
said Tomas would sit out Thursday’s game, too.

UP NEXT

Padres: Tyson Ross gets his second start of the spring when San Diego plays at
the Cleveland Indians in Goodyear on Thursday.

Diamondbacks: Shelby Miller tries to bounce back from a rough Arizona debut
when he starts Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels in Tempe.