Zack Greinke departs game after three pitches

Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Zack Greinke‘s first spring outing lasted all of three pitches according to Aaron Gleeman of Hardball Talk. Gleeman states that Greinke left the mound and headed for the Dodgers clubhouse with trainer Stan Conte in tow.

The preliminary diagnosis?

Hernandez later tweeted that the injury was considered “mild”. In a quick article of The Los Angeles Times, Hernandez also says that Greinke was in the process of facing his second batter of the game when he was visited on the mound by Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. After a couple of warm-up pitches, it was off to the clubhouse for Greinke and Conte.

The Dodgers were without a regular for today’s game as it is. They were without left fielder Carl Crawford for today’s game. He is experiencing tightness in his quadriceps. That tightness occurred as Crawford scored during the third inning of yesterday’s game.

I know folks don’t like to hear when a pitcher has arm issues, but leg issues aren’t all peaches and cream either. With the injury being to Greinke’s right calf, that would limit the amount of push he gets off the rubber. Mechanics can definitely go haywire if there is an issue with either leg.

Needless to say, the Dodgers won’t take any chances here. They were without Greinke for a portion of the 2013 season, and they do not want a repeat of that.