Who does Zack Greinke have to fear most on the Rays when he starts on Sunday? No, not Evan Longoria, who is 0-for-10 against Zack. Not Carlos Pena, 3-for-21 (.143) or Carl Crawford, 4-for-19 (.211). It’s that pesky Jason Barlett, the Rays’ leadoff batter who is 5-for-10 with three walks against the Royals’ ace.

Lefty prospect Mike Montgomery made his first start since being promoted to Double-A Northwest Arkansas and it lasted only 1 2/3 innings. No, he didn’t get knocked out, he got rained out. Before the rain, he gave up one hit, a walk and no runs with two strikeouts against Arkansas at Little Rock. He was 2-0 with a 1.09 ERA in four starts for Single-A Wilmington with 33 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings. . . . Jordan Parraz’s two-run homer lifted Triple-A Omaha over Iowa, 3-1, and Blake Wood recorded his fourth save. . . . Jairo Cuevas pitched eight strong innings for his second win as Wilmington beat Winston-Salem, 3-1. First baseman Eric Hosmer’s two hits raised his average to .421. . . . Billy Butler marked his three-year anniversary of his first Major League game on Saturday night. It was May 1, 2007, when Billy debuted against the Angels and went 2-for-4. He singled in his first at-bat against Bartolo Colon. Manager Buddy Bell had him batting seventh and playing left field.

–Dick Kaegel