Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said Shaun Marcum is ''still a little sore'' from a cramp suffered Thursday but isn't expected to miss his next start.

Marcum had cramping issues, and lasted just five innings in his last start, but this doesn't appear to be a serious injury. For now, consider him day-to-day.

Shaun Marcum allowed four runs -- three earned -- on nine hits over five innings in Thursday night's loss to the Astros.

Marcum struck out five and allowed just one walk. Of his 91 pitches, 60 were thrown for strikes, and his ERA now stands at 3.31 on the season. He'll look to return to form Tuesday against the Giants.

Shaun Marcum gave up three earned runs over six innings as part of a no-decision against the Giants Sunday.

Marcum stumbled out of the gate, giving up two runs in the bottom of the first inning after the Brewers staked him to a one-run lead in the top of the frame. He ended up striking out just three and walking two while yielding five hits. Marcum hasn't given up more than three earned runs in any of his starts this year, but has just one win to show for it. He'll gave a good chance to reverse that trend against he light-hitting Cubs next time out.

Shaun Marcum wasn't involved in the decision after shutting out the Padres for seven innings on Tuesday.

Marcum left a scoreless tie, so he remained stuck at one win for the season. He did lower his ERA to 3.19.

Shawn Marcum pitched his worst game of the season on Wednesday, laboring through five innings while surrendering four runs (three earned) on eight hits in a no-decision versus the Brewers.

He also walked four and struck out seven. Marcum needed 99 pitches to complete five frames, and has gone past six innings only once in four starts. He sports a 4.13 ERA and 1.33 WHIP.

Shawn Marcum turned in a quality start against the Rockies on Friday, allowing three runs on eight hits in six innings of work.

Marcum struck out five and walked two in the game. He surrendered single runs in the first and the fourth, then allowed a solo shot to Todd Helton in the sixth inning. Marcum now sits at 1-1 with a 3.79 ERA and a very solid 17/4 strikeout to walk ratio in 19 innings. He'll take on the Astros next time out.

Shaun Marcum (shoulder) will make his first start of the regular season on April 9.

There had been some question about whether Marcum would begin the year on the DL with some shoulder soreness, but he's felt fine for a couple weeks now and is coming off a terrific start against minor leaguers Friday. He'll be preceded by Yovani Gallardo, Zack Greinke and Randy Wolf and followed by Chris Narveson.

Shaun Marcum (shoulder) tossed five shutout innings Friday in a minor league exhibition game.

Marcum allowed just one hit while striking out seven and walking none. It originally looked like he would begin the season on the disabled list following his recent bout with shoulder inflammation, but we now believe he'll be on the active roster.

Shaun Marcum (shoulder) is now scheduled to pitch in a minor league game Friday.

Marcum was originally scheduled to pitch in a Cactus League game, but the Brewers want to keep him on the minor league side so that they have the option of backdating a potential DL-stint to March 26. The 30-year-old has been slowed this spring due to shoulder inflammation, but tossed two innings in a minor league game last Wednesday and made it through a bullpen session Tuesday without incident. If all goes well, he'll make his first start of the season on April 9 or 10.

Brewers GM Doug Melvin said the Brewers will allow Shaun Marcum to reach free agency.

The writing seemed to be on the wall since this winter. Marcum is slated for free agency after the season. Perhaps Milwaukee is in wait-and-see mode with Marcum, who faded down the stretch last year. This seems like a lose-lose situation for the Brewers, however. If he has a big season, Marcum will likely price himself out of Milwaukee. If he happens to struggle, he'll simultaneously become affordable for the Brewers going forward while hurting their playoff chances in 2012.

Shaun Marcum told reporters Wednesday that he does not anticipate missing a turn in the rotation.

Marcum has been slowed in camp by shoulder inflammation, but he threw a successful two innings in a minor league game Wednesday and should be able to make two Cactus League starts before the Brewers head north. He's anticipating making his regular season debut on either April 9 or 10 in Chicago.

Shaun Marcum (shoulder) is scheduled to pitch two innings in a minor league game Wednesday.

Marcum was shut down earlier this month due to inflammation in his right shoulder. But he's beginning to make progress again and should be able to fit in two Cactus League starts before the Brewers break camp. He is not in danger of missing a regular-season outing quite yet.

Brewers pitching coach Rick Kranitz was encouraged by Shaun Marcum's (shoulder) live batting practice session Sunday and thinks the righty will be ready to appear in a game later this week.

Good news for the Brewers and the 30-year-old right-hander. Manager Ron Roenicke last week conceded the possibility that Marcum might not be ready for his first start of the season, but it sounds like it's realistic to think he'll make his first turn. If he's not, Marco Estrada will fill in for him.

Shaun Marcum (shoulder) will throw live batting practice Sunday and if it goes well could appear in a game next.

Manager Ron Roenicke has admitted that Marcum might not be ready for his first start of the season, but we should have a better idea of his status later this week. Even if he's not ready for his first start, it doesn't seem like we're looking at a prolonged absence here.

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke conceded Friday that Shaun Marcum (shoulder) might not be ready for his first start of the season.

Marcum threw his second bullpen session Friday and it went well, but Roenicke admits that the righty could run out of time. "The days are getting short," he said. "If Marcum stays on schedule, his pitch count would not be up there that high again (as last spring, when he fell behind). He can pitch that way and he can give us whatevever it's going to be -- five or six innings. So, we'll have to look at what we think is more important. We certainly don't want to push him to make that first start." Marcum will throw live batting practice Sunday and how he fares with it will determine his next step. The Brewers are stretching out Marco Estrada just in case.

Shaun Marcum will throw his second bullpen session Thursday since being shut down earlier this month with shoulder inflammation.

Marcum has yet to make his Cactus League debut, but Brewers' manager Ron Roenicke isn't ready to rule him out for the start of the season. "He's doing good," said Roenicke. "Since he has started throwing again, everything is on track and hopefully it will stay on track. We'll see when we get to the end of this thing, where we are. We have an idea where we think he's going to fit in." Marco Estrada is the most likely candidate to serve as a temporary fill-in if Marcum can't get stretched out in time.

Shawn Marcum (shoulder) has resumed throwing and could be ready for the Brewers' April 6 opener assuming he has no more setbacks.

"He's doing good," manager Ron Roenicke said. ''He'll throw a bullpen either tomorrow or [Monday]. Timing-wise he's ahead of where he was last year (at this time). Last year, it was close -- you didn't know if he was going to be ready at the beginning or not, and I think he'll probably be in the same boat this year."

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said Monday that Shaun Marcum (shoulder) will be shut down for the next 2-3 days.

Marcum felt continued soreness playing catch Sunday and Monday and will not make his Cactus League debut as scheduled on March 10. No tests are scheduled at this time, but Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel wouldn't be surprised if he received an injection. Marcum dealt with a similar issue last spring and managed to start the season on the active roster, so the Brewers are confident they can follow the same path this spring.

Shaun Marcum experienced continued shoulder stiffness while playing catch on Sunday and Monday.

The Brewers downplayed the severity of the issue initially, but it now appears as though Marcum will not be able to make his Cactus League debut on March 10 after meeting with Dr. William Raasch on Monday. He likely won't have enough time to get fully stretched out, but Brewers manager Ron Roenicke hasn't ruled him out for the start of the season.

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said Shaun Marcum's shoulder soreness is "not as bad as it was last year."

That's encouraging, given that Marcum missed just one spring start and was ready for the beginning of the season last year. "We're going to back him off a day," Roenicke said. "Just a little tender, a little bursitis. Not as bad as it was last year. But there's a little bit." The right-hander has downplayed the issue, saying, "I think everybody gets aches and pains and soreness in spring training. It's just part of the job."