Hunter Greene delivered the kind of outing Cincinnati has been waiting for, and the Reds backed it up with a 4-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night at Great American Ballpark.
The victory moved Cincinnati to 43-50, with two games left before the All-Star break. The Reds could wind up just five games under .500 by the time the interval arrives.
Greene got the ball for the opener of the series and made the most of the opportunity. Before Friday, he had made just one start since July 4 against the Orioles, when he lasted 3.1 innings, allowed eight earned runs and struck out seven Baltimore batters.
Against Chicago, though, Greene was locked in from the jump. He worked seven innings, punched out 12 Cubs and opened the night by striking out two hitters in the first inning alone.
Shota Imanaga started for the Cubs and was steady early, letting his defense handle the first two innings. Cincinnati started to chip away in the third, when Spencer Steer and Sal Stewart picked up back-to-back hits.
The game stayed scoreless until the fifth, when Elly De La Cruz broke through with a 400-foot homer to left-center on an 0-1 fastball.
Greene kept rolling after that. In the sixth, he struck out two more Cubs before getting Dansby Swanson to pop up to short. He then finished the seventh by striking out two more Chicago batters.
Imanaga’s night ended in the sixth after the Cubs went to the bullpen. He finished with five innings, seven hits allowed and one earned run.
Cincinnati put the game away in the eighth. De La Cruz tripled and scored on Stewart’s sacrifice fly to center. Steer then added an infield single, and JJ Bleday blew it open with a 417-foot homer to center that made it 4-0.
The Reds will look to keep it going Saturday, when Nick Lodolo is expected to start. First pitch is set for 7:10 P.M.
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