LOS ANGELES — Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke was scratched from his scheduled start against the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday night due to soreness in his right calf.
“It’s pretty minor — just a little discomfort,” Greinke said.
A strained calf muscle in his right leg sidelined Greinke for two weeks during spring training in 2014 and prevented him from making the Dodgers’ season-opening trip to Australia.
The right-hander acknowledged that the calf has “sometimes” bothered him since but said, “It was worse then.”
The problem flared up during his start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday and Greinke told Dodgers manager Don Mattingly the next day.
“He kind of told me what he was feeling a little bit. We were hoping it would just resolve over the week,” Mattingly said. “For the most part, it doesn’t feel very serious. But at this point, we don’t want to take any chances with it.”
Greinke is expected to make his next start. That is scheduled for Monday at San Francisco in the opener of a four-game series that could be crucial to the Dodgers clinching their third consecutive National League West title. Greinke will have nine days off before that start.
“It’s always a little bit of a concern when he’s not going,” Mattingly acknowledged before Wednesday’s game. “The timing is not great. But what are you going to do? The timing is not great for JT (Justin Turner, sidelined by a left knee injury). The timing is not great for anybody that’s banged up right now.
“So we’re obviously concerned. But there’s not a whole lot you can do but step up and play the game in front of you.”