The Reds get one more crack at the Rockies this afternoon, and they’ll need a sharper showing after getting blown out in game two of the series yesterday. Cincinnati and Colorado wrap up the three-game set at 3:10 p.m. ET, with Hunter Greene and Ryan Feltner lined up for the start.
Cincinnati is sending out a lineup built around Elly De La Cruz at shortstop, with Sal Stewart at first, JJ Bleday in right, Spencer Steer at second, Nathaniel Lowe at designated hitter, Eugenio Suarez at third, Tyler Stephenson behind the plate, TJ Friedl in left and Dane Myers in center. Colorado counters with Jake McCarthy in center, Mickey Moniak in left, Hunter Goodman catching, TJ Rumfield at first, Willi Castro at short, Kyle Karros at third, Troy Johnston at DH, Tyler Freeman in right and Edouard Julien at second.
All eyes, though, are on the two starters. Greene has only 10.1 innings on the season, so the numbers are still a tiny sample, but his last outing looked like the kind of dominance the Reds were hoping to see. After a rough season debut in a loss to Baltimore, he came back last week and carved up the Cubs with 12 strikeouts, one walk and seven shutout innings.
The 2025 splits give a clearer picture of how hitters handled him. Right-handers posted a .199 average and .353 slugging mark against Greene, while lefties hit .184 with a .384 slugging percentage.
Neither side did much in terms of getting on base or drawing walks. Greene’s pitch mix has been heavy on the four-seam fastball and slider, with the heater sitting at 99.1 mph, the slider at 89.5 and the splitter at 87.2.
Feltner’s season has taken a different path. He opened with a 6.30 ERA through five starts, then landed on the injured list with inflammation in his ulnar nerve.
After five weeks away, he returned in late May and has been much better, logging a 3.74 ERA over eight starts. His last outing, though, was a rough one: four runs in 4.1 innings with four walks against the Giants.
The matchup data on Feltner is tight. Right-handed hitters have hit .244 against him, left-handers .235, and the gap in on-base and slugging numbers is small as well.
He’s also been better at home than on the road, with a 4.14 ERA at home compared to 5.32 away from it. His arsenal features a 94.8 mph four-seamer, a 94.4 mph two-seamer, a curveball, slider and changeup, with the slider his most-used pitch.
There was also news earlier this week on Chase Burns’ extension with the Reds. The total terms were already known, but last night Mark Sheldon of Reds.com reported how the money is spread across the seven years.
Burns will make $2.5 million in 2027, then $8 million, $12.5 million, $15 million, $17 million, $23 million and $25 million in the following seasons. He also received a $2 million signing bonus.
In the division race, Milwaukee leads at 61-37, with Chicago at 55-43, St. Louis at 51-46, Pittsburgh at 51-48 and Cincinnati at 44-53. Fangraphs gives the Reds a 1.1% shot at the playoffs.
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Former Mariner Eugenio Surez Returns With Trade Deadline Tension Hanging Over Him
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Surez has been through this before, with multiple moves already on his resume, so the possibility of another one is hardly foreign. Even with that backdrop, he has kept his focus on the field, and there was also a more personal moment recently when he and Ezequiel Tovar connected over the earthquakes in Venezuela, a reminder that the deadline noise is only part of the story surrounding him right now. [Read more 🡒]