DENVER – Hunter Greene stood inside the visiting dugout at Coors Field with his arms folded and a jacket tucked beneath his arms while staring out to the field.
A few minutes earlier, Greene watched Ryan McMahon launch one of his fastballs to the second deck of seats in right field, spoiling his outing and breaking a tie in a 10-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Friday. Greene liked how he pitched compared to his last start, but he was a few pitches from his best statistical performance of the season.
The Cincinnati Reds have lost 15 of their last 16 games, already 10.5 games back in the division standings before the end of April.
More:Cincinnati Reds notes: Connor Overton named starter for Saturday vs. Rockies
More:Cincinnati Reds rookie pitcher Alexis Diaz turning heads with unique fastball
Pitching on an extra two days of rest, Greene averaged 96.7 mph on his fastball, a slight uptick from where his velocity was in his last outing. It wasn’t near the 100-mph velocity he showed in his first two starts, but he added velocity deeper into his start and topped out at 99 mph in his final inning.
"I don’t want to dwell on it," Greene said. "I’m very proud of myself of how I’ve been able to go out and pitch. There are going to be times, like the last two starts, where you don’t feel 100%. You have to bear down, go out there and just compete. I feel like I’ve done a good job with that.
"Trying to keep that in perspective in the days that I do have 100-plus in the tank. Those are the days that are fun. The days like today, you go out there and try to keep hitters off balance and you just try to put your team in a good position to win.”
The start unraveled for the 22-year-old Greene in the fifth inning. Charlie Blackmon opened the inning with a double in a two-strike count. Two batters later, C.J. Cron hit a low line-drive single on a first-pitch fastball, the ball hit so hard that Blackmon briefly retreated to second base and failed to score.
Next up was McMahon, who struck out in his first two at-bats. Alexis Diaz was up in the bullpen, but this was Greene's game. Greene went to the inside part of the plate with a 97-mph fastball, the pitch leaked over the middle and it turned into a no-doubter, three-run homer. The Rockies’ dugout and the crowd of 30,206 erupted.
"The balls that creep over the middle in the big leagues, they’re going to hit them," Greene said. "I feel like that’s the only time I really get hit."
More:What the Cincinnati Reds 3-16 start to the season is like for Joey Votto
Greene threw his slider more often than in previous starts, showcasing strong command of the pitch, but he lasted only 4 1/3 innings while permitting four runs on six hits and four walks.
He didn’t have clean innings Friday, throwing a season-high 95 pitches, but he pitched out of trouble with six strikeouts. The lone damage against him prior to the fifth inning was a leadoff homer from Elias Díaz in the second inning.
"To really be one pitch away from allowing one run through five," Reds Manager David Bell said, "that would have been a real success if he was able to do that."
There have been moments in each of Greene’s first four starts where he’s shown incredible potential, but it’s added up to a 6.00 ERA because of trouble at the end of his outings. He’s the youngest pitcher in the Majors and there are expected learning curves, but it doesn’t make it any easier when the team is mired in a three-week rut.
It was a rough night defensively with two errors. The Rockies scored four runs in the seventh inning, aided by misplays. Catcher Mark Kolozsvary allowed a passed ball. Third baseman Brandon Drury misjudged pop-up in foul territory. Left fielder Tommy Pham had one ball bounce out of his glove on an attempted sliding catch, punching the ground afterward, and another flyball dropped past his outstretched arm.
The Reds’ offense produced 12 hits and had little to show for it on a chilly and windy night. They grounded into four double plays, killing potential rallies, and stranded nine runners. Three runs came in the top of the ninth inning.
"It seemed like any time we got something going," Bell said, "(Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela) was able to make a pitch and get a ground ball."
Trailing by four runs in the seventh inning, the Reds loaded the bases with one out through two walks and a double. Rockies reliever Jhoulys Chacín escaped the jam when he induced Jonathan India into an inning-ending double play.
One half-inning later and the Rockies had an eight-run lead.
Source link
