Postgame Takeaways: Hunter Greene Dominates, Reds Fall to Rangers 5-3

The Reds will be off on Thursday.

Sep 22, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene (21) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The Reds fell to the Rangers 5-3 on Wednesday afternoon at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. It was their first loss at Goodyear this spring.

Here are our postgame takeaways:

Hunter Greene Dominates

After struggling in his first two starts of the spring, the Reds' ace dominated the Rangers on Wednesday afternoon. Greene gave up just two hits in four scoreless innings of work. He walked a batter and struck out six.

Greene went to his fastball early and often, throwing it 34 times out of his 57 pitches. He reached over 100 mph on seven of those fastballs.

One intertesting note is that Greene threw 13 splitters and only seven sliders. Before the 2024 season, Greene almost threw an exclusive fastball/slider combination, but he introduced the splitter in 2024 and slowly rolled it out. This is one of the first outings where Greene has thrown his splitter the most out of his secondary pitches. Out of those 13 splitters, Greene generated four swings-and-misses.

An Offensive Struggle, Hurtubise Continues to Impress

The Reds got on the board in the second inning when Jacob Hurtubise singled home Gavin Lux, who reached on a double. Hurtubise had been impressive this spring, hitting .583. There doesn't seem to be a big chance that Hurtubise makes the opening day roster, but if he keeps hitting like this, it might be hard to keep him off of it.

In the sixth, Jose Trevino hit his first double of the spring that scored Santiago Espinal.

After a Rece Hinds triple, Tyler Callihan hit a sacrifice fly that would get the Reds within two.

Cincinnati had just five hits on the day.

Mixed Results for Reds' Pitchers

Connor Phillips, who has pitched well so far this spring, really struggled on Wednesday afternoon. He walked four batters, gave up four runs, and recorded just a single out. Simon Miller, who replaced Phillips, gave up a run and two hits in 2/3 of an inning.

Zach Maxwell, who is competing for the last bullpen spot, pitched around a walk and a hit to throw a scoreless inning.

Scott Barlow struck out two and did not allow a baserunner in his lone inning of work. He has yet to allow a run this spring.

Albert Abreu also added a scoreless frame and has yet to allow a run.

Chase Burns Spring Training Debut

In the ninth, the Reds' 2024 second overall pick, Chase Burns, made his debut, and he did not disappoint. Burns issued a walk, but struck out three of the four batters he faced. The 22-year-old's 12 fastballs averaged 99.6 mph and four of them reached triple digits.

News and Notes

• Cooper Bowman went 0-3 and is hitting .095 this spring.
• The Reds went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
• Jacob Hurtubise was caught stealing.
• Hunter Greene had an error on a pickoff attempt.

Up Next

The Reds are off on Thursday before hosting the Giants at Goodyear, Ballpark on Friday at 3:05 ET.

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