Game 2: Reds vs. Nationals (4:10 PM ET) – Greene vs. Corbin

Happy first Hunter Greene Day of the year!

If Hunter Greene doesn’t ever get better than what he’s shown us so far, he will still settle in as a quality mid-rotation option for the Cincinnati Reds. Big strikeouts, big dingers served up, an ERA that’s bigger than we’d expect it to be from a guy who can spin a baseball that damn hard.

It’s my time to annually remind you, though, that Hunter Greene and Matt McLain were born on the exact same day. They’re the same age, Greene and the guy we were all expecting to step right in and improve upon his excellent 2023 season (prior to his unfortunate shoulder surgery). And while it seems like Greene has been around the Reds forever since being the #2 pick in the draft all those years ago, he’s still managed to log only 46 starts at the big league level.

46! That’s just one more start under his belt than Graham Ashcraft – and Ashcraft is a full year and a half older, by the way!

What I’m saying is that Greene still has a ton of development left, and today marks his first chance to show where that development stands in the 2024 season. He’ll toe the rubber on Saturday afternoon against the Washington Nationals in the season’s second game, and will do so opposite veteran lefty home-run server-upper Patrick Corbin.

Since there’s a lefty on the mound, Reds manager David Bell has countered with his best, healthiest lefty-mashing lineup. Matt McLain, it would sure be nice to have you around right now.

First pitch is set for 4:10 PM ET.

Reds Lineup