Hunter Greene has excellent but short start as Cincinnati Reds lose to Toronto Blue Jays

TORONTO –– Throughout the last week, Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell has stood by his decision to let Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene throw 118 pitches in a no-hit bid against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In last week’s game, Bell saw Greene getting stronger as the game went on, and he thought keeping Greene in during a tie game gave the Reds the best chance to win. But Bell also said he knew that he’d have to monitor Greene more closely in his next start since Greene had never thrown 118 pitches in a game before.

Joey Votto: The long-standing legacy of Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto at his old high school

Reds injury news: Cincinnati missing several right-handed bats in loss to the Blue Jays

On Saturday at the Rogers Centre, Greene allowed just one run in six innings, and he threw only 84 pitches. But after Greene got a strikeout to end the sixth, Bell pulled him from a tie game.

The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Reds, 3-1, after Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning off Reds reliever Luis Cessa. When Greene left the game, the score was tied at 1, but the tie game didn’t last to the end of the seventh inning.

"When guys have to work really hard in one (previous) start, it can happen pretty fast where they can hit a wall maybe in their next time out," Bell said. "I said to (pitching coach Derek Johnson) at one point, let’s watch closely, because if it does happen, it could happen quickly. Taking (Greene) to the limit there before that actually happened really sets him up well for his next time out."

Greene didn't pick up the win, but he said he took pride in responding so well from his 118-pitch game six days ago.

"My biggest focus this season is really not numbers, but for me, it's my development," Greene said. "Obviously up here, it's all about winning. I understand that and take pride in that. For me, it's really becoming a better pitcher and looking back after the season and being proud of the steps I've made. I feel like I've done well with that throughout my career as being a better player every year. That's really my focus this year."

Greene had six strikeouts and allowed only four hits and two walks. He has continued to shine because of how he has redesigned the way he uses his slider.

Last year, while Greene was trying to prove that he was ready to join the Reds’ starting rotation, he focused on his changeup throughout the season.

Greene’s fastball and slider were already dominant, but he knew he’d need a third pitch once he’d face major league hitters. But over Greene’s last three starts, as he has lived up to all of the hype and expectations that preceded his arrival in MLB, Greene has barely used his changeup at all.

He hasn’t needed it because he developed a different third pitch.

More: Reds notes: Joey Votto returns, but the Reds lose four players to the restricted list

More: Tyler Naquin continues to turn around his season as the Reds sweep the Guardians

More: Here's where Cincinnati Reds attendance ranks in the MLB so far in 2022

Greene now has two versions of the pitch. One slider looks like a 90 mph cutter, but it has the velocity and the break to run all the way across the strike zone. The other slider looks like an 88 mph splitter that drops down in the strike zone at the last second.

"He has the ability to throw the slider harder or have it shorter and slower with bigger break," Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson explained.

In his most recent start before Saturday, when Greene pitched 7⅓ no-hit innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he leaned on those two pitches. Against the Blue Jays, Greene used those two pitches even better than he had before.

Greene still had incredible moments with his fastball, including a swing-and-miss strike three against Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman on a 101 mph pitch. But Greene was dominant for the second straight game because of how well his two sliders were working.

"It was like he could do whatever he wanted, and that’s saying a lot against this lineup," Bell said. "It’s an excellent lineup. To be able to make those kind of pitches, use the fastball when he wanted to and the slider, it was even a little bit better than it was in Pittsburgh, which is pretty incredible."

In one at-bat against Blue Jays second baseman Santiago Espinal, who was hitting .296 entering the game, Greene got all three strikes with his slider. The first one cut toward the right edge of the strike zone for a called strike. The next slider dove even further to the right and got Espinal to swing and miss. The last slider dropped down in the strike zone at the last second and froze Espinal on a strike three looking.

On Saturday, Greene had several moments like that where he showed his remarkable potential.

"I don't want to get too caught up in having a few good starts," Greene said. "It's a long season, a lot more starts to be made, definitely don't want to get complacent with that, but I've always wanted to pitch here in this environment, here at this stadium and to be able to do well was really, really nice and special."

Greene kept the Reds in the game in the sixth inning with an inning-ending strikeout. The Blue Jays started a two-out rally after an error by Reds third baseman Mike Moustakas. With the bases loaded in a 1-1 game against Chapman, a former All-Star, Greene trusted his slider.

But because Greene’s slider has more variety, Chapman had a hard time telling what was coming. Greene struck him out looking to end the inning on a slider that cut to the right edge of the strike zone, and Greene pumped his chest as he left the game.

“The most impressive thing he did today was the strikeout on Chapman after he got into trouble,” Bell said. “Out of everything Hunter has done this year, that might’ve been my favorite moment so far. We’re going to have a lot of those.”

Cessa entered the game in the seventh and allowed a two-run homer to Bichette. Toronto took a 3-1 lead, which led to the Blue Jays’ second straight win over the Reds.

Despite the loss, Greene took another step and showed how much more comfortable he is pitching in the big leagues than he was six weeks ago.

"It's being a professional and wanting to push yourself and continuing to grow," Greene said. "Obviously I want to do well for this team. That's the most important thing, having the respect of your teammates and obviously being able to respect yourself and be proud of yourself. I take a lot of pride in going out there and trying to put my team in the best position to win."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Hunter Greene shines again in Reds loss to the Blue Jays