Cincinnati Reds waste Hunter Greene's dominant start in loss to Pirates

PITTSBURGH – The last time Hunter Greene pitched at PNC Park, it was the sixth time in MLB history a team lost a game without allowing a hit.

Greene was dominant once again, but the way the Cincinnati Reds lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates wasn’t quite as bizarre.

Miguel Andújar lined a three-run double off the center-field wall in the seventh inning, against reliever Buck Farmer, and the Reds were handed a 4-1 loss in front of an announced crowd of 8,723. The Pirates have won nine of their 25 games this month, and six of their wins came against the Reds.

"Tough to come in here and lose the series against the Pirates," Kyle Farmer said. "I think a series we should have won, but that’s how baseball goes. We just have to get better."

Greene, making his third start since returning from a 43-day stint on the injured list, pounded his chest and said, “Let’s go!” to himself as he walked off the mound in the sixth inning after striking out his 10th batter.

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It was Greene’s second career start with a double-digit strikeout total and they’re both in his last three outings. He relied heavily on his slider in the early innings and his fastball carved up hitters at the end of his six-inning outing.

"I knew I was coming out," Greene said of his reaction after his last strikeout. "I’d like to get a lot more fired up on innings earlier than that, but I know I have to go back out there, and the game can humble you pretty quick. Knowing when I’m going to come out, I usually like to get fired up and had a pretty good idea there."

Greene permitted four hits and one unearned run. He walked three, but remained on the attack as he worked ahead in counts and threw a first-pitch strike to 20 of his 27 batters.

The 23-year-old Greene was at his best in the fifth inning after the Pirates loaded the bases with no outs via two hits and a hit batter. After a visit from pitching coach Derek Johnson, Greene struck out his next batter on three pitches. Then it was another strikeout on four pitches, with Greene nodding at catcher Austin Romine after pumping a 100-mph fastball.

"After the first hitter, I felt like he was going to get it done," Reds Manager David Bell said. "He was determined to do it and he has the stuff. He wanted to make sure he got out of that."

With two outs, Andújar hit a ground ball down the third-base line. Kyle Farmer made a diving stop and fired a throw across the diamond that beat Andújar by a step to end the inning. As soon as Greene saw the umpire signal out at first base, he let out a yell and swung his arm in excitement.  

"There were a few times that I could’ve easily folded and I didn’t do that," Greene said.

Forget the records. Forget it’s the final week of the season in a disappointing year. Greene is determined to finish his rookie season strong.

In three starts since returning from the IL, all against divisional opponents, Greene has allowed two earned runs in 17 innings (1.06 ERA) with 29 strikeouts and six walks.

"Making sure that I wasn’t just healthy coming back, but I was going to be a new pitcher and be able to take that into the offseason and build off it going into next year," Greene said. "I really worked on the days in between, my bullpens, my catch play, the feel for my pitches, the executing, being able to control all my pitches. I really took a lot of pride in that with the time off."

Cal Mitchell hit a one-out jamshot single on a fastball on his hands in the second inning, muscling the pitch into shallow center field. It ended Greene’s hitless streak against the Pirates at 8 2/3 innings combined with his May start.

Jonathan India scored in the first inning on a wild pitch, but the Reds couldn’t produce any more offense against Mitch Keller and Pittsburgh’s bullpen. Aristides Aquino had two at-bats against Keller with the bases loaded, ending the third inning with a strikeout and ending the fifth inning with a flyout to center.

"It all works together," Bell said. "One part of the game isn’t clicking, there's the pressure of guys trying to do too much. It’s a real fine line when we’re not scoring runs. Our hitters are continuing to do absolutely everything they can. They’re working like crazy. I know it doesn’t make it easier to sleep at night for them, but I do know that it pays off."

The Reds, who have a 4-15 record since Sept. 10, have scored three or fewer runs in six straight games and 10 of their last 11.