What Barry Larkin, Chris Welsh said of Frankie Montas' first Cincinnati Opening Day start

The Cincinnati Reds' Opening Day starting pitcher, Frankie Montas, was impressive in Thursday's 8-2 win against the Washington Nationals at Great American Ball Park, allowing just four hits without a walk in six shutout innings, with four strikeouts. He threw 81 pitches.

Bally Sports Ohio analysts Barry Larkin and Chris Welsh praised Montas' effort in his first start as a Red.

"I've really been impressed by what he's done," Larkin said during the broadcast. "As we talked earlier, we talked about throwing and pitching. He's out there pitching, specifically with two strikes. It really seems to me like he said, 'You know what. Go ahead, put the ball in play and let my defense play behind me.' And he's been masterful. … That's the greatest impact that we will see hopefully on these young pitchers that we have, right? You get a veteran guy out there that goes deep into the game and says, 'Listen, boys. You can get the strikeouts. But if you want to pitch late in the game, then induce a groundball here and there. Some weak contact.'"

"You know, he's also made it easy on himself by following the game plan," Welsh added. "If you're gonna plan against the Nationals, you've got to keep CJ Abrams off the basepaths. You also have to keep Lane Thomas off. … You get the top of the lineup out, and you don't let them distract you or your teammates by putting the running game into play, worrying about guys going from first to third, just complicating things. So he is enjoying pitching with the bases empty."

"Very efficient," Larkin said of Montas later in the broadcast, when Montas left the game. "What a debut here in Cincinnati."

"I think he's ready to pitch the second game of a doubleheader," Welsh joked.

From The Enquirer's Gordon Wittenmyer via Twitter/X:

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Barry Larkin, Chris Welsh laud Frankie Montas' Cincinnati Reds debut