Hunter Greene missed two months to injury while pitching like a Cy Young candidate.
Reds begin crucial homestand four games back in the NL wild card standings.
Greene has a 2.81 ERA with 94 strikeouts in 77 innings this season.
This is the stage Hunter Greene has craved since the first day he put on a uniform.
The personal goals have been put aside.
The two-month injured list stint ruined any Cy Young hopes or other honors.
No matter, this is Greene’s time to flourish.
He’s ready to embrace the expectations, bear the pressure and put the Cincinnati Reds on his broad shoulders and carry them into the postseason.
The Reds are about to embark on their most critical homestand of the season Friday. They have nine games against the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, and then the team they’re chasing in the wild-card race: the New York Mets.
The Reds have the most difficult remaining schedule among all contenders, but if they’re going to have a shot, and catch the Mets while making up a four-game deficit, they’re going to need a monster homestand to give themselves a fighting chance to reach the postseason.’’
“I understand the situation I’m in, and I embrace it,’ Greene tells USA TODAY Sports. “This means a lot. I think we all work extremely hard to be put in those positions. With the signing of the extension (six years, $53 million in 2023), I made a promise to myself and the organization that I would try to push us as far as we could.
“So it’s just understanding that role and embracing that and trying to do the best I can to make this come true.’
Greene was in ninth grade the last time the Reds made the playoffs in a full season. The year was 2013. Closer Aroldis Chapman is the only player from that playoffs team who’s even still in the majors.
Now, here they are again, with a starting rotation that ranked fourth in the National League entering Wednesday a 3.79 ERA, and a cumulative WAR (13.7) exceeded only by the Philadelphia Phillies. The albatross has been their offense, scoring no more than one run in 29 games this season. They were just 3-48 this season when trailing after six innings.
Little wonder why they would love to add a free agent slugger like Kyle Schwarber or Pete Alonso this winter, knowing that just one power hitter in the lineup could change the entire team..
But, for now, they’ve got no choice but to ride with what they have, and that’s to rely on their starting rotation, headlined by Greene (5-4, 2.81 ERA with 94 strikeouts and 16 walks), who has a fresh arm after pitching only 77 innings this season. He missed two months with a strained groin, and since his return has struck out 21 batters and walked only two in 17 innings.
“Oh, my gosh, he could be the best post-trade deadline acquisition in the league,’ Reds reliever Brent Suter says. “He’s just a special player, special stuff, and just a bulldog when he’s out there.
“Guys always joke that when Hunter Greene is out there, its going to be a good day. Hunter coming back, being the No. 1, that’s big for us.’
‘Our ace’
Greene’s return turned a good rotation into a great one, and a chance for the pitching staff to be even better when Chase Burns comes off the injured list in the coming weeks.
“I don’t think anyone would want to play us if we sneak in there, not with our pitching,’ Reds infielder Gavin Lux says. “We’re a young team with nothing to lose. We can match up with anyone, especially with Hunter coming back. He’s had a couple of months off, his arm is fresh, and when he’s healthy, he’s as good as anyone in baseball.’
Greene’s strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6.50 in his first 13 starts this season was the best by a Reds’ starter in franchise history. He still has visions of winning 20 games one season and joining the exclusive Black Aces fraternity, last achieved by Hall of Famer CC Sabathia, one of his role models.
“He is our ace,’ Reds starter Nick Martinez says. “Every time he goes out there, you know he’s going to go out there and make a statement, giving us a chance to win. He wants us to rely on him, and understanding that, it makes him better.
“He’s a huge piece for us to not only get to the playoffs, but who can help us make a deep run.’
Greene opened the season looking as if he would be a legitimate Cy Young candidate. He had a 0.99 ERA after his first four starts, striking out 31 batters with four walks. He was cruising along with a 4-2 record and 2.53 ERA, yielding a .174 batting average when he started to feel pain in his groin. He went only three innings in his next start, went on the injured list for 15 days, returned for two more starts, and then was out for two months.
“He was doing crazy stuff out here, punching the world out,’ Suter says. “It definitely felt like he was in the running for the Cy, if not his to lose. It was a bummer he got hurt, but he definitely can still make a great season out of this. We’re going to lean on him heavily, for sure.’
Says Reds infielder Matt McLain: “Everybody knows who he is and how good he is. To add him to our rotation at this point of the season is huge. He’s a dog. He’s such a great pitcher and it’s awesome we get him down the stretch.’
Red October?
Greene is locked and loaded for a September to remember. He feels healthy. He’s strong. And most important, fresh.
“Obviously, I can’t control what’s in the past,’ Greene says, “now it’s just trying to put my best foot forward and to continue to put us in a good position. It’s a testament to the rest of guys in this clubhouse that they were able to continue to put up a really good fight to put us in this position. …
“There’s a lot that I owe to this team.’
The opportunity is now directly in front of them, and as much as the Reds have been scoreboard watching, they realize that unless they take care of business themselves, it won’t matter what the Mets, Padres or Cubs are doing.
“I remember I told these guys that the games in April sometimes aren’t real glamorous, and it’s cold,’’ Reds manager Terry Francona said. “But the teams that don’t get buried, if you give yourself a chance to play games later in the year, that can be really fun.
“We didn’t come out of the gate on fire (30-33 through June 5), but we didn’t get buried either.’
So, here they are, 68-66, with 28 games to play, having a chance to go where no Reds team has gone in 12 years.
They have a shot. Maybe it’s a longshot, but it’s something.
“I just think it’s huge for us that we have the ace of our team back when we’re trying to make a playoff push,’ Reds outfielder Austin Hays says. “I mean, being with the Phillies last year and watching the way [Zack] Wheeler was pitching down the stretch last year, that’s the way Hunter was throwing. It was very similar to Wheeler.
“If we can get just get in, with our starting rotation and defense, anything can happen.
“We’ve all seen it before.
“I’d love to see it again.’
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