PHOENIX -- Zack Greinke will make his Spring Training debut for the D-backs on Friday against the Dodgers and will start Opening Day for the second consecutive season, the D-backs announced Wednesday.
The D-backs have taken things slowly with Greinke this spring and if he pitches every fifth day from Friday until the opener he will have one fewer start than the others in the rotation.
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"He's probably five days different than everybody else, which was part of the thought process from the very beginning," manager Torey Lovullo said. "It was to slow-play him, let him catch up on his own time, give us feedback each and every day. We were in constant communication with him. Out of fairness to him and what he's done in this game, we thought it would be to our advantage to let him get ready on his own timeframe."
Greinke will certainly be looking for better results in this year's opener than Opening Day in 2016 when the Cubs roughed him up for seven runs on nine hits over four innings in a 10-5 loss.
It was the beginning of what proved to be a disappointing season for both Greinke and the D-backs.
Greinke finished with a 13-7 record and a 4.37 ERA while being limited to 26 starts due to an oblique injury and some shoulder discomfort late in the season.
Greinke, who has faced hitters in live batting practice twice this spring, is expected to throw two innings or 35 pitches Friday.