SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke threw four innings in a minor league game Wednesday without any trouble in his tender right elbow.
If there aren't any setbacks, Greinke would start April 5 at home against Pittsburgh.
Greinke had not pitched in 2 1/2 weeks because of discomfort in his elbow. The former Cy Young winner, who signed a $147 million, six-year contract as a free agent in the off-season, had a platelet-rich plasma injection to help his recovery.
Greinke said his "arm felt really good today, really strong."
"I wasn't worried about it today," Greinke said. "I wasn't worried about it the last time I pitched. My pitches aren't 100 per cent crisp yet, but I don't know if anyone in the locker room is yet."
Greinke gave up two hits against minor leaguers from the Chicago White Sox.
"He threw 42 pitches in four innings, that's pretty good," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said a 7-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals. "That's 10 pitches an inning. He didn't give up any runs. It sounded like he used all of his pitches."
Mattingly said Greinke's fastball was clocked in the 91-93 mph vicinity, "which is pretty much his range."
"Everything went good today," Mattingly said.
He has pitched in just two major league spring-training games for a total of five innings.
Mattingly said Greinke is scheduled to start exhibition games Monday against the Royals and March 30 against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim.
"We'd like to see him in the front fields," Mattingly said. "I think he wants to see himself on the front fields, too."
Greinke should be up to 90 pitches for his regular season debut.
"Ninety pitches is pretty much a full outing," Mattingly said.
