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Greinke set for Brew City debut with Padres in town

May 9, 2011 - 2:52 PM (Sports Network) - Having snapped a nine-start losing streak dating back to last year, Padres hurler Mat Latos now seeks his first victory since last September.

New Brewers ace Zack Greinke just hopes his home debut goes better than his first start of the season last week.

The two starters go head-to-head this evening with something to prove as Milwaukee plays host to San Diego for the start of a three-game series at Miller Park.

Greinke was Milwaukee's big offseason addition after acquiring the former Cy Young Award winner from the Royals in December, but he did not make his season debut until last Wednesday after suffering a cracked rib in a pickup basketball game at the start of Spring Training. The right-hander had a forgettable debut at Atlanta, giving up five runs -- four earned -- on five hits with six strikeouts in an 8-0 loss.

"I didn't expect him to go out there and throw all zeros," said Brewers manager Ron Roenicke on Milwaukee's website. "It's nice to have him back. He is going to compete. But I don't think it's fair to think he's going to go out and be the same guy [right away] that we've seen the last few years."

The 27-year-old sixth overall pick of the 2002 draft faces the Padres for the first time.

Latos, meanwhile, shoots for his first victory since Sept. 7 as he starts for the Padres.

One of San Diego's top pitchers last year with 14 wins and a 2.92 earned run average, the 23-year-old righty lost his first four starts of the season before recording a no-decision versus Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Latos allowed two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings of his team's 6-5 win.

Latos, who is pitching to a 4.55 ERA on the season, has faced the Brewers just once before, taking a 2-1 loss on May 1 of last year. Latos was doomed by a pair of solo homers by Rickie Weeks and opposing starter Yovani Gallardo in the six-inning outing.

Latos hopes to benefit from facing a Brewers club that is coming off a 2-8 road trip and was held to a pair of runs or fewer in seven of those games.

After snapping a seven-game slide on Saturday, Milwaukee lost the rubber match of its three-game set with St. Louis, 3-1, on Sunday.

The Brewers did threaten in the ninth inning as Craig Counsell hit a bases- loaded single with two outs to bring home Milwaukee's first run, but Weeks struck out on three pitches to end the game.

"He dealt with some tough pitches, and kept fouling them off until he got a pitch he could handle. It was an outstanding at-bat," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said of Counsell's plate appearance. "Coming back in the ninth inning, it was a good job there to load the bases."

Chris Narveson surrendered seven hits and three runs -- two earned -- while fanning five over six frames in the setback.

While Milwaukee tried to do its damage last, San Diego came out of the gate hot in Sunday's finale with Arizona. Jason Bartlett got the scoring started in the first inning with an RBI double and Jorge Cantu later followed with a three-run homer, all the offense the Padres would need in a 4-3 win.

It was enough for Aaron Harang, who yielded two runs on eight hits over seven innings to help the Padres split a six-game homestand. They now play eight straight on the road, where they are 7-6 so far this season.

"Overall, you know, I liked the fact I thought his [Harang] stuff got better as the game went on. I saw the fastball velocity climb," Padres manager Bud Black said.

San Diego won four of seven over the Brewers last year, but dropped two of three at Miller Park.