'He’s special': Hunter Greene shows how bright his future is for the Cincinnati Reds

PITTSBURGH –– When Cincinnati Reds starter Hunter Greene learned that he made the Opening Day roster and would be the youngest active starting pitcher in MLB, he called his parents, and he cried.

Ever since Greene developed a fastball that could hit 105 mph, appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and was deemed one of the future stars in baseball, Greene’s dream was always being on the biggest stage at the highest level and showing that he had the demeanor to be one of the faces of baseball.

The dream as a young baseball player growing up in California was that one day there would be moments like this.

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On Sunday at PNC Park, Greene pitched 7 ⅓ no-hit innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the Reds lost 1-0. For all of the hype that Greene had entering his big league career, he still exceeded expectations with the way he pitched on Sunday.

“(I’ll) continue to stick with the process, I think that's where my peace is as a player and as a person,” Greene said. “That'll always be there, so I take a lot of pride in that and the work that I've put in. Yeah, it would've been great to have a different result, but it is what it is. This is my team, ride or die with them.”

The Reds didn’t allow a hit against the Pirates, but they still lost the game due to a fielder’s choice in the eighth inning that scored a run. It was the sixth time in MLB history that a team didn’t allow a hit and still lost the game.

In the eighth inning, even as his pitch count reached 118, Greene showed a unique skill set. His fastball was still reaching 98 miles per hour. His slider was still keeping batters off-balanced.

Greene walked consecutive batters in the eighth inning and stretched his arm after the second walk. At that point, Reds manager David Bell pulled him from the game and brought Art Warren out of the bullpen.

Warren threw a double-play ball that nearly ended the inning. But second baseman Alejo Lopez bobbled it and couldn’t turn two. The runner from third base scored, and the Pirates took a 1-0 lead.

The Reds didn’t score in the top of the ninth inning, and they lost the game without allowing a hit.

“We want to do everything we can to win the game, and that’s the main goal,” Bell said. “But that doesn’t take away from how special of a day that it was by Hunter Greene and Art Warren. The way (Greene) did it was amazing to watch.

“He pitched, he’d get behind the count, throw a slider and get back into the count. He had a great fastball but he also had a special slider. He pitched. He pitched his way into having an opportunity to go nine innings, get a win and a no-hitter. In my book, that’s what it was today."

It was still a showcase and the milestone moment for Greene. For his entire life, Greene has been working toward a moment like this.

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Greene has already had to overcome a career’s worth of obstacles. He missed some of the 2018 season and all of 2019 after having Tommy John surgery. The 2020 season was canceled due to the pandemic. In 2021, Greene pitched with an innings limit.

In 2022, Greene had to compete for a starting spot in the Reds rotation throughout all of spring training. His goal was that his intense preparation in the offseason could get him on the Reds roster.

Greene made the team, and on Sunday, he showed the exact strengths that made him the most exciting pitching prospect in baseball.

“He puts the time in to be that good, he’s here for a reason, and he’s special,” Reds right fielder Tyler Naquin said. “He doesn’t skip a beat. He’s consistent, and it shows. He’s getting more comfortable with more starts as he should. He has put away stuff, and he needs to be more confident and believe in it and attack hitters. He can overpower you when he gets going.”

Against the Pirates, Greene’s fastball was 100 mph from the jump. He moved the pitch around the strike zone, and commanded it as well as he has all season.

“I’m very confident in myself,” Greene said. “It’s hard on the mental side not to let your mind drift to that accolade. It is what it is. I think you’ve got to embrace all the thoughts and emotions in that moment and just go out there and have fun. Hopefully, I’m going to have a lot more opportunities for that. I’m looking forward to that.”

Greene’s slider was even better, and Bell called the pitch unhittable. He had seven strikeouts in the first five innings, and six of them were with his slider. Greene had the ability to manipulate the pitch to get it to dive into the dirt or keep it in the strike zone for a called strike.

When Greene struggled during the first month of the 2022 season, he struggled because he wasn’t able to control his slider. In a few games, opposing teams weren’t swinging at the pitch because they weren’t expecting Greene to land it for strikes. Hitters were sitting on Greene’s fastball, and they crushed the pitch consistently for home runs and extra-base hits.

Greene entered Sunday’s game with a 7.62 ERA and a 1-5 record in six career starts, and he was coming off a start where his slider was as good as it has been all season. Against the Pirates, Greene showed the most complete skill set he has shown all season.

Greene was rolling from the first inning when he struck out Pirates leadoff hitter Ben Gamel with a fastball at the top of the zone. Greene used his fastball all game to set up his slider as his strikeout pitch. The Pirates were late on his fastball and lunging at his slider. He ended the seventh by framing a slider on the outside corner of the plate.

“Leading up to this start, there were things he knew he needed to work on,” Reds catcher Aramis Garcia said. “I was in his bullpen before this start last week, and watching him work, he was executing everything he was trying to do. He carried that right into today. “

Pitching in a 0-0 game for most of the way, Greene barely ran into trouble. In the seventh inning, Reds center fielder Albert Almora Jr. made an incredible running catch in the gap as he collided with left fielder Tommy Pham, but that was the only defensive highlight of the game.

Just two weeks ago, Greene allowed five home runs in a disappointing start versus the Milwaukee Brewers. Afterward, Greene vowed that he’d learn from the experience, make the necessary adjustments and use the game as a learning experience.

Greene, the youngest starting pitcher in MLB, did exactly that. And in his stellar outing against the Pirates, the 22-year-old looked like a future star. The Reds still lost the game due to a misplay on a potential double play in the eighth inning, but the most important part for the last place Reds was how Greene proved how dominant he can be pitching in MLB.

“What has stood out to me is how well he handled it all,” Bell said. “He’s a quick learner who makes quick adjustments. He doesn’t get down on himself. He’s very competitive, but he approaches it exactly how you’d want somebody to. There’s no way he could handle that any better, and that’s what led to today. He’s built on the good ones and learned from the ones that have been tough. It’s really impressive.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds lose to Pirates despite Hunter Greene not allowing hit