Five games remain! The Cincinnati Reds are one game out of a playoff spot in the National League. Nobody saw this coming, but this team has a good shot to find their way in as they own the tiebreaker over the New York Mets.
Reds' ace Hunter Greene has been a big factor in putting the team in a position to be successful. Over his last two home starts, he has been almost unhittable. In fact, Greene just made history after his dominance against the Chicago Cubs last week and the Mets before that. Two wins, two hits allowed, 21 strikeouts, and “He’s the only pitcher in the modern era (since 1901) with those marks or better over a 2-start span at home.”
Greene even pitched lights out against the AL-leading Toronto Blue Jays in his home start before the Mets. He pitched 5.1 innings, allowing five hits and one run, striking out seven. The ace is electric at Great American Ball Park, which will be a huge advantage if they can make the postseason and win the Wild Card against either the Los Angeles Dodgers (likely) or the San Diego Padres.
It is hard to imagine that feat hasn't been done before. There has been a ton of dominant pitching over the years. What Greene is showcasing at this point in the season is remarkable because he is giving his team a chance to win and make the postseason when nobody predicted them to even be in this spot.
The former No. 1 pick will start again on Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 18 starts this season, Greene is 7-4 with a 2.74 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and has 125 strikeouts in 101.2 innings. At home, he is 5-1 with a 1.44 ERA. Greene has allowed just 10 runs all year long.
Injuries have gotten in the way this season, but when healthy, he is clearly one of the top hurlers in the sport.
