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Greinke's velo woes persist in final spring start

Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke sloughed off questions about his diminished velocity early on in spring training, and he was clearly tired of discussing his meager radar gun readings midway through the Cactus League schedule, but the 33-year-old right-hander didn't exactly put the issue to bed with his performance Tuesday at Peoria Stadium.

In his final Cactus League outing, Greinke - set to make his second straight Opening Day start Sunday at Chase Field against the San Francisco Giants - sat at 88-89 mph Tuesday and topped out at 90.4 mph in his four innings of work, according to Nick Piecoro of AZCentral. He allowed three runs, all earned, on six hits and didn't notch a single strikeout.

This spring, Greinke - working with a fastball that averaged 90.76 mph, according to Brooks Baseball - managed a 5.06 ERA with a 5:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 10 2/3 Cactus League innings. Last year, Greinke's four-seamer sat at 92.32 mph and maxed out at 95.62.

(Courtesy: Brooks Baseball)

Earlier this month, one scout noted that his stuff had regressed.

"Stuff has taken a dip even since last year," a rival scout said following Greinke's ugly March 8 outing against Mexico's World Baseball Classic club. "Hopefully it's just spring training and he's working into shape. It wasn't good today."

Heading into the second season of a six-year, $206.5-million deal, Greinke is looking to rebound after posting a 4.37 ERA - his worst since 2005 - with a 1.27 WHIP over 26 starts for Arizona in 2016.

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