Zack Greinke (2-0, 1.62 ERA) returned last week from his broken collarbone to pitch effectively in a win over the Washington Nationals. Tonight, Greinke will look to continue his promising 2013 outlook and help lead the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers back into contention against the Milwaukee Brewers, in a game that can be live streamed for free here or on MLB.com with a subscription. Dodgers fans can listen to the game at 570 Fox Sports LA, while Brewers fans can hear the action at WTMJ 620.
The Dodgers are scuffling along due to season-long slumps by Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, a continuation of last season's power outage for Adrian Gonzalez, and non-stop injuries to Hanley Ramirez. Of all the high-wattage stars populating the Dodgers' roster, only ace Clayton Kershaw has met the hype.
Greinke has pitched well this season, and the Dodgers are hoping his return will boost the pitching staff while the star-studded offense rounds itself into form. Greinke said he is not completely healed, but he feels good enough to contribute.
"The collarbone feels pretty good," Greinke said. "It's not 100 percent, but it doesn't restrict me at all when I'm pitching." Greinke is not yet ready to pitch deep into games, however. "My stamina needs to grow a little bit, but that could be next start. It needs to be a little bit stronger throughout the game. I was feeling pretty drained after five."
The Brewers are sending Hiram Burgos (1-2, 6.58 ERA) to the hill, so tonight may be an opportunity for the Dodgers' bats to get on track. The 25-year-old rookie has been fairly effective in four of his five starts, although he cannot yet be relied on to eat innings. His numbers are inflated by a disastrous May 11th outing in which he was knocked around by the Reds for 10 earned runs (12 total) in just three innings. Removing that start drops his ERA to a respectable 3.91.
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