Greinke ready to bat against 'nasty' Kershaw for 1st time

Zack Greinke's probably had this date circled in his mind ever since he left Los Angeles to join the Arizona Diamondbacks.

For the first time ever, ex-Dodgers teammates Greinke and Clayton Kershaw will oppose one another when the D-Backs head to Dodger Stadium on Friday night. It has the potential to be a classic pitcher's duel between the two stars, who once formed a dynamic mound duo in Hollywood - but that's not why Greinke is anticipating this meeting.

Greinke, who owns six career homers and one Silver Slugger award, is chomping at the bit to dig into the batter's box and see just what Kershaw has to offer him.

"I want to face him just to see how nasty he is," Greinke told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com on Thursday.

Indeed, Greinke seems to know exactly what he's in for, because Kershaw's been particularly dominant against opposing hurlers, and, with the notable exception of Madison Bumgarner, has generally made them look even sillier than normal at the plate. Pitchers own a meager .269 OPS against Kershaw, and are just 42-for-417 against him since 2008.

But perhaps Greinke may have the advantage over the usually unflappable Kershaw, given that the southpaw hinted at perhaps having some nerves about facing his ex-teammate and friend.

"I'll just try and block it out," Kershaw said about pitching to Greinke, according to Gilbert. "It's not fun to pitch to people you know. I'm not good at separating that. I'm just going to have to focus and really think about it like he's another guy. Then the next day I can talk to him."