PHOENIX -- It was 50 degrees when Corbin Burnes threw his first Spring Training pitch. That’s surprisingly chilly for March in Arizona, but perfect conditions for a pitcher likely to make a second consecutive Opening Day start at Wrigley Field.

In fact, Burnes would be perfectly happy with 50 degrees on March 30 in Chicago.

“This would be beautiful on Opening Day,” Burnes said. “If you could pencil that in, I would take it.”

The Brewers would take an extended version of Thursday’s type of performance from Burnes in a 7-4 loss to the Rangers, one four-pitch walk aside. He was scheduled to work two innings, but wound up heading back to the mound for the start of the third because he’d only thrown 19 pitches to that point. Burnes was charged with a pair of runs following a leadoff walk in the third, but all told, it was a productive debut for three reasons.

1. He got some extra work in

“We were trying to get ‘up’ twice and get that pitch count to 20-30,” Burnes said. “We didn’t get there after two, so the lucky winner -- me – got to go out there for the third. But it was good. It was good to get out there three times.”

Pitchers talk more these days about “ups” -- the number of times they get up from the bench to pitch an inning -- than they do about raw pitch count. Each of the Brewers starters is on a somewhat different program this spring, based on the club’s experiences with them and, in some cases, their own wishes. Burnes said he was unhappy with his live batting practice sessions and simulated games prior to his Cactus League outing against the Rangers, so he considered Thursday a step forward.

2. He logged his first competitive action with William Contreras

“The biggest thing is getting to know William, getting on the same page,” Burnes said. “PitchCom is going to help with that as well. You’re just getting a better flow and a better tempo.”

So far, so good with Contreras, Burnes said. It also helps that the Brewers have a returning catcher in Victor Caratini, who caught 119 of Burnes’ 202 innings last season.

“He’s caught me a couple of bullpens, my live BP, my sim games, he’s caught all those,” Burnes said of Contreras. “It was good work today. It’s just getting comfortable back there. They all set up slightly differently; it’s just a little different target to get used to. I threw to Vic a ton last year, so when I throw to him, it’s second nature. It’s about getting that same type of feeling with William back there.”

3. He played around with PitchCom

The rules this year allow pitchers to call their own pitches via PitchCom technology, a right reserved for catchers last season. Before Burnes did so on a handful of occasions Thursday, the only pitcher to take the reins in one of Milwaukee’s games was Kansas City veteran Zack Greinke on Sunday, when he amused Brewers manager Craig Counsell and others by shaking himself off on several occasions as he found his way around the buttons.

“I actually was texting with [Greinke] about it,” Counsell said. “That PitchCom device, you have to learn how to use it. There’s nine buttons on there in a circle and it’s not easy. He was just pushing buttons until he got to the pitch he wanted.”

Burnes is aiming to be more precise. He called “a handful” of pitches Thursday.

“It’s just a way to eliminate getting backed up against the pitch clock,” Burnes explained. “I think when we saw guys running into trouble in sim games and early in games, was that if you’re shaking with no one on base, you really only have time to shake once, maybe twice. A guy like me, who throws five different pitches, it could cause some trouble.”