GLENDALE, Ariz. — Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke will throw in a Minor League game Wednesday instead of the Freeway Series game against the Angels on Thursday.
Greinke, who reached his pitch count of 76 Friday night without getting out of the fourth inning, will use the Minor League game to control the amount of times he gets up and down for the start of an inning, manager Don Mattingly said.
“He’s not thrilled about it,” Mattingly said. “He’ll throw Wednesday, the same day as [Clayton] Kershaw [against the Royals]. We feel he’s not quite built up. He didn’t get to do the ups and downs last night. He’ll have an extra day before he starts [April 7 against San Diego].”
Mattingly said Greinke prefers to pitch in Major League games because of the “energy,” but “he understands we’ve got to control the ups and downs.”
Mattingly said pitching coach Rick Honeycutt suggested to MLB that a rule change should be considered allowing a pitcher to be removed during a long inning, say 25 pitches, and return the next inning because the ups and downs are as important as the pitch count.
“Spring Training is to get guys ready,” Mattingly said.
Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
