Reds’ Hunter Greene Fans Four Versus Pirates in Return From IL
After being sidelined for just over a month with an elbow injury, right-hander Hunter Greene didn’t miss a beat in his highly-anticipated return against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park on Sunday.
The 25-year-old, making his first appearance at any level since August 13th, impressed on the mound over his three innings of work, allowing just one run on two hits and a walk. He punched out four batters, inducing 11 whiffs on 23 swings (48 percent).
Since Greene didn’t participate in a rehab assignment, his first start back was an abbreviated outing, with Cincinnati pulling him after his pitch count reached 45 pitches (29 strikes).
“It felt great. I felt like my stuff was pretty sharp. I was happy,” Greene told reporters post-game, including MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon.
The only blemish against Greene was Oneil Cruz’s first-inning home run, which travelled 442 feet to right-centre and soared off his bat at 106.9 mph. He allowed a single after that but then retired eight of his final nine batters faced to conclude his day.
The hard-throwing righty’s fastball wasn’t as explosive as usual, with its velocity averaging one mph less than its season average of 97.6. But it still proved effective, generating five of his 11 swings and misses.
“Being able to go out there and play the game that I love and do it with my teammates, to be back out there with those guys … It’s tough being in the clubhouse on a day-to-day basis,” Greene said. “I’m still getting my work in but not being out there physically on the field with those guys was tough. To be able to come back out and feel great today was really cool.”
Cincinnati’s bullpen only allowed one additional run after Greene departed following the third inning. The only problem, though, was the offence couldn’t solve NL Rookie of the Year candidate Paul Skenes, who didn’t surrender a run while striking out nine across five innings.
And the Reds lineup didn’t fare much better versus the Pirates relievers that followed out of the ‘pen, ultimately being shut out 2-0 to fall to 76-81 on the year – good for fourth in the NL Central with only five games remaining in 2024.
Still, regardless of the disappointing outcome in a challenging season for Cincinnati, Greene can rest easy knowing he was able to make it back from injury before the ‘24 campaign concluded.
“I felt like I owed it to myself, I owed it to the team,” Greene said. “I felt like it was important to send a good message to the younger guys coming up. I was one of those younger guys that was constantly looking to the rotation in the big leagues and looking for inspiration, motivation, ways to get better.”
“I think it’s important to send that message: ‘This is our job.’ If you can come back, I think there’s a lot of value in it.”
Prior to landing on the IL, Greene – a first-time All-Star this season – had enjoyed a breakout performance, posting career bests in innings pitched (146.1), wins (nine), ERA (2.83), FIP (3.46), strikeouts (166), quality starts (13) and fWAR (3.7).
The 6-foot-5 hurler, signed to a six-year, $53-million contract that runs through 2028 and includes a club option in ‘29, will likely make one final start at some point this weekend in Chicago against the Cubs.
Interestingly, Greene’s return marked the final game for Reds skipper David Bell, who was dismissed by the club late Sunday night. Moving forward, bench coach Freddie Benavides will act as the interim manager for a franchise that failed to meet expectations and will miss the playoffs for a fourth straight season.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Minda Haas Kuhlmann. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.