Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw make final spring tuneup starts

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Both Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke made their final spring tuneups on getaway day Wednesday, as the Dodgers head for home after 43 days in camp.

Kershaw threw 45 pitches in his three innings against the Royals in Surprise, allowing one unearned run on a hit and two walks, with two strikeouts. He ended his spring with a 1.61 ERA in six starts, with 22 strikeouts and seven walks in 22⅓ innings.

Greinke was back at Camelback Ranch, and threw seven innings in a minor league intrasquad game on the back fields. He allowed two runs, both solo home runs, on five hits and struck out nine. It was only the fifth start of the spring for Greinke, who joined the rotation late after a lubricating injection into his elbow in February.

The Dodgers wanted to stretch Greinke out in his final start since his previous long outing was four innings, and the best way to control that was on the minor league side in a less-structured environment. Greinke said he made a small mechanical adjustment in the fifth inning and retired his final nine batters faced.

"If I threw seven innings, the first five were not looking good but the last two were amazing," Greinke said. "Hopefully, I can keep it up."

Kershaw will start on opening day Monday against the Padres, with Greinke starting on Tuesday night.

We are now lined up for the Freeway Series, with two games in Anaheim on Thursday and Friday night, followed by Saturday night's finale at Dodger Stadium. Brandon McCarthy starts Friday and Brett Anderson starts Saturday, with both scheduled for short outings like Kershaw in their sixth and final spring starts.

Thursday will be a bullpen game for the Dodgers, with several relievers vying for a spot likely pitching an inning or so in that game. A starter hasn't yet been named though manager Don Mattingly did say on Wednesday that the starter on Thursday would be a right-handed pitcher.