Greinke takes the hill in misspelled jersey

ARLINGTON -- It remains to be seen whether the Angels can re-sign free-agent-to-be Zack Greinke this offseason. But he won't hold Sunday's jersey hiccup against them, at least.

"They had one hanging, and I decided to wear the one that wasn't hanging," Greinke said. "So it was probably partially my fault."

Whatever the reason, Greinke came out for his Game 1 start at Rangers Ballpark, an eventual 5-4 victory by his team, with a jersey that had his last name spelled "Grienke" in the back. Greinke, who eventually gave up four runs in 7 1/3 innings of a no-decision, didn't even notice it until a clubhouse attendant informed him he needed to switch jerseys in the middle of the fifth.

"They came down and told me it was wrong," said Greinke, who has a 2.04 ERA in his last eight starts. "I didn't know. I didn't care, either. But they wanted me to switch it.

"It's not my first experience with that."

Nope. On Aug. 13, 2011, Greinke was called on by Brewers manager Ron Roenicke to pinch-hit. One problem: Greinke came out wearing the jersey the Brewers were slated to wear the following day to celebrate German heritage in Wisconsin. So, instead of saying "Brewers" on the front, Greinke's jersey sported the German translation -- "Bierbrauer."

After the latest incident, Greinke was hoping those four earned runs would be charged to that "Zack Grienke" guy.

"Yeah, it should be," he said with a wry smile. "We would've won a lot easier if it wasn't for him."