PHOENIX -- Zack Greinke said the curveball he threw to Prince Fielder was the best one he's ever had hit out of a park.
He sought out the first baseman to find out how he did it.
Fielder hit his second homer in as many days and Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo got back on track with five strikeouts over four scoreless innings in a 5-1 win against Kansas City Royals split squad Friday.
Greinke (2-1) said he has no idea how Fielder even was able to reach his two-strike curveball down and away for a three-run homer in the first inning. Greinke approached Fielder after fouling off a bunt in the third.
"Seriously, that was the best pitch I've ever made that got hit over the fence. That was probably the only pitch today that I did exactly what I wanted to do. When I bunted and bunted it foul, I was like, 'How did you hit that?"' Greinke said. "That pitch was everything I wanted to do. It just shows you how good of a hitter he is."
Fielder, who told Greinke he was just lucky, laughed about the run-in down the line.
"I just reacted. He throws so hard you can't be looking for anything off speed and he's got a great fastball and it's all down. I was trying to just meet it. I got lucky that time. The next AB, he threw a changeup, same swing, perfect everything but I just missed," said Fielder, who finished 2-for-3. "It's just how it is sometimes."
Rickie Weeks also homered for the Brewers in the second off Greinke, who gave up at least one run in all three innings he pitched. Greinke allowed eight hits and a walk after pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings against the Brewers on Sunday.
Kansas City tagged Gallardo for seven runs in his last start on Sunday after the right-hander only managed two outs. Gallardo gave up four hits and walked three in that game, but was sharp in this one from the first batter.
He struck out Willie Bloomquist leading off and again to end the third inning, and allowed just two hits, a bloop single to left by Derrick Robinson in the third and another soft hit by Mark Teahen in the fourth.
"It all came down to starting off with strike one. Last time I faced these guys they were very patient," Gallardo said. "One of the things I said to myself, I'm just going to go ahead and attack the strike zone and start off with strike one."
The Brewers don't want to put too much pressure on their 23-year-old ace in training who'll be counted on to help pick up the slack from the departures of CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets in free agency, but Gallardo acknowledged just how frustrated he was with his previous performance.
"It's just one of those things, it's going to happen. The last start was very tough for me, but there's nothing you can do about it," Gallardo said. "My mechanics were the same, it was just about being aggressive."
Brewers closer Trevor Hoffman worked a perfect sixth inning, striking out one in his third appearance this spring.
"I'm real pleased with the way he's gone about his job," Brewers manager Ken Macha said.
Fielder is shaking off his slow start this spring after coming into the game with a .217 average and just five hits, including his home run against the Padres on Thursday. The homer off Greinke came after consecutive singles by Trot Nixon and J.J. Hardy with one out in the first.
"There's only a couple of guys that can drive the ball on your pitch. That was pretty amazing," Greinke said. "The guys that got on before that were my fault."
Notes
The Royals' split squad was led by bench coach John Gibbons. ... Macha said 3B Bill Hall would return to the lineup on Saturday. Hall has missed the last four weeks with a muscle tear in his left calf he injured while conditioning on his own before camp started. ... Brewers CF Mike Cameron (intercostal strain) may swing as early as Saturday, but Macha doesn't believe he'll be ready to return to the field for a couple of days.
