Giants-Reds Opening Day starting pitchers: Webb vs. Greene
When the Reds host the Giants for Opening Day on March 27 at Great American Ball Park (4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT), it will feature a matchup of aces who made their first All-Star Games in 2024. Out of the gate in 2025, Hunter Greene and Logan Webb will try to advance to higher levels of success for themselves and their clubs.
RHP Logan Webb
Previous Opening Days starts: 2022, ¡®23, ¡®24
2024 season: 13-10, 3.47 ERA
Even with two former Cy Young winners on the pitching staff -- Justin Verlander and Robbie Ray -- Webb was the obvious choice to make his fourth consecutive Opening Day start for the Giants. The 28-year-old right-hander finished sixth in the National League Cy Young race after recording a 3.47 ERA over an NL-high 204 2/3 innings in 2024, but he wasn¡¯t entirely satisfied with his results and is determined to be even better in his seventh big league season.
One of his goals for the spring is to recapture his signature changeup, which saw its Run-Value fall from +28 in 2023 -- the second-highest mark in the Majors that season behind Gerrit Cole¡¯s four-seam fastball -- to -4 last year, according to Baseball Savant.
Opposing hitters ended up batting .275 with a .411 slugging percentage against Webb¡¯s changeup last season, up from .225 and .309 in 2023. Webb said he tweaked his grip slightly to try to make his changeup more effective and hopes to dial in the pitch during Cactus League play. He¡¯s also working on implementing a new cutter and has looked sharp in his first four exhibition starts, logging a 1.84 ERA with 15 strikeouts over 14 2/3 innings.
RHP Hunter Greene
Previous Opening Days starts: 2023
2024 season: 9-5, 2.75 ERA
Ever since he was Cincinnati's No. 2 overall selection in the 2017 Draft, Greene has been expected to be an elite Major League pitcher. After his first two seasons were filled with injuries and inconsistency, the 25-year-old right-hander seemed to put it all together in 2024.
Greene's 6.3 WAR led the National League and also tied him with American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal for the lead among all MLB pitchers. He also set new career highs in innings (150 1/3), starts (26) and strikeouts (169) and finished eighth in NL Cy Young Award voting. If he had enough innings to qualify, Greene would have finished second in the NL in ERA behind Zack Wheeler.
Right elbow soreness cost Greene more than five weeks on the injured list from August into September. Pitching an entire season without interruption is his highest priority, along with pitching 180 innings, recording 200 strikeouts, a sub-3.00 ERA and his first Cy Young Award.