SAN FRANCISCO -- It was the first time in the game Hunter Greene appeared on the verge of allowing a run: Willy Adames was on first base with two outs and Greene was facing the Giants¡¯ Jung Hoo Lee in the bottom of the sixth inning on Monday night at Oracle Park.
Lee worked the count to 2-0 -- the first time Greene had fallen behind a San Francisco hitter to that extent all evening. Lee connected on a 99.6 mph fastball, sending it deep into the night in right-center field ¡ and into the glove of outfielder Blake Dunn.
It was a sequence indicative of the masterful performance Greene put forth in the Reds¡¯ 2-0 victory over the Giants, who¡¯d entered the day with a seven-game winning streak and the Majors¡¯ best record at 8-1.
Greene fell just a few pitches shy of his first career Maddux -- a shutout on fewer than 100 pitches. Greene threw a total of 104 pitches, 76 of which were strikes, before Tony Santillan entered with two outs in the ninth inning to get the game's final out.
¡°It came off the bat sounding good,¡± said Greene, eyes widened, regarding Lee¡¯s drive, the second-hardest-hit ball the Giants had in the game. ¡°It made me feel alive, honestly. Going through the game, everything¡¯s kind of in my favor, and then that ball gets hit. These are the best players in the world, so you¡¯ve got to have situations and moments like that.
¡°But yeah, it just made me feel more alive.¡±
The Opening Day rematch with San Francisco¡¯s Logan Webb remained scoreless through the seventh, until the Reds mounted a rally against Camilo Doval and Erik Miller.
Dunn ripped a two-run double down the right-field line to break the deadlock and push across a pair of runs, which proved to be enough for the hard-fought victory.
Greene attempted to navigate the ninth but ran into trouble with two outs, allowing a single to Lee and walking Matt Chapman. Manager Terry Francona went to Santillan out of the bullpen, who avoided disaster by retiring Heliot Ramos on a 106.7 mph liner to left fielder Jacob Hurtubise -- the Giants¡¯ hardest-hit ball on the night.
¡°Once it was my turn,¡± said Santillan of his first save since 2022, ¡°my mindset was, ¡®I¡¯ve got to get this last guy for Hunter,¡¯ because he deserved it big time.¡±
¡°Every outing, he's been just absolutely dominant,¡± said Dunn. ¡°He¡¯s gone out there and gave it his all. Being able to get that win today for him was awesome.¡±
¡°If I¡¯d have managed with my emotions, I¡¯d have left Hunter in,¡± admitted Francona of the late drama. ¡°I wanted him to finish that game, I just thought he started to overthrow a little bit.¡±
Greene relied heavily on the four-seam fastball, which he threw for 59 of his 104 pitches. Six of those were clocked at over 100 mph, while 28 more were at least 99 mph. But it was Greene¡¯s slider, thrown 33 times to generate 11 whiffs, that drew the most attention from the other dugout.
¡°He was throwing 100 in the ninth,¡± said Giants manager Bob Melvin. ¡°More than anything, though, I think it was the slider today. It was even better than last time we saw it. ¡ When you're throwing that hard, it's tough to lay off that pitch, too. So he's had good stuff before in the past, [but] I think this was about as good as stuff he's ever had.¡±
¡°I think Hunter is one of the best pitchers in baseball,¡± added Webb. ¡°I think if he stays healthy, he has a good chance of probably winning the Cy Young last year. I mean, you see the stuff. He's throwing 101 on pitch 100. He¡¯s one of the best pitchers in baseball, so it's just what you expect. I think I¡¯ve faced him every time I face the Reds now, so maybe next time I¡¯ll face the team without having to face him. But yeah, he¡¯s definitely a special arm in this league right now, and you saw it tonight.¡±
After it was all settled, the Reds handed San Francisco its second defeat. Both have come at the hands of Cincinnati, which was looking to start this West Coast series on the right foot after a tough weekend in Milwaukee.
¡°They fought hard for that,¡± said Francona, gesturing to the loud music playing in the Reds¡¯ clubhouse next to his office. ¡°Right now, wins are kind of hard for us. That doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t, it¡¯s just kind of hard. So to see them out there being excited, that really makes me happy.¡±