Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene has established himself as one of the best young pitchers in the majors.
Meanwhile, prized Kansas City prospect Noah Cameron could be on his way toward that same distinction.
Trying to further find his rhythm after a stint on the injured list, Greene will look to help the visiting Reds sweep a three-game set from Cameron and the struggling Royals on Wednesday night.
An All-Star in 2024, when he posted a 2.75 ERA over 26 starts in his third major-league campaign, Greene (4-2, 2.54 ERA) is the Reds’ ace. At 25, the right-hander has been equally as effective this season, allowing more than two runs just twice in nine starts.
However, the hard-throwing Greene will be looking to find his form after he yielded three hits, two walks and a two-run homer, while throwing 83 pitches over four innings, during Friday’s 13-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs in his return from missing more than two weeks with a right groin strain.
“I felt good,” Greene said.
“I just wanted to be able to go in and compete.”
According to Reds manager Terry Francona, Greene was on a pitch limit for his return outing. It’s likely he will be extended for this contest as Cincinnati aims for a perfect series and fourth win in five games.
“It’s a really, really good two games so far, and Hunter going (Wednesday), so I’m excited,” Cincinnati’s Brady Singer, who tossed seven strong innings against his former team during Tuesday’s 7-2 victory, told FanDuel Sports Network Ohio.
Greene has never faced the Royals, who have averaged a paltry 2.75 runs during their current 5-11 rut.
Cincinnati, meanwhile, has totaled 14 runs through the first two games of this set, and 28 while winning three of the past four. Elly De La Cruz homered twice Tuesday, when Tyler Stephenson also went deep for the second straight game.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s TJ Friedl recorded three singles Tuesday for his fifth straight multi-hit contest. He’s batting .467 (16-for-35) in the past eight games.
However, Cameron (1-1, 0.93 ERA) has enjoyed an exceptional start to his big-league career.
Through 19 1/3 innings of his first three major-league starts, the left-hander from nearby St. Joseph, Mo., has allowed just two solo homers and five other hits. One of those home runs, plus three other hits and a walk, was yielded by Cameron over 6 2/3 innings of Kansas City’s 3-1 walk-off loss at Minnesota on Friday. He struck out eight and didn’t figure into the decision.
“They’ve been impressive (starts), all three of them,” but (Friday) was the best one,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said.
That said, the Royals have scored just four runs while going 1-2 in Cameron’s starts.
Kansas City, a loser in six of the past seven at home, has scored in only three innings of this series.
Royals star Bobby Witt Jr is 7-for-41 (.177) in the past 10 games. However, one bright spot for Kansas City has been Maikel Garcia, who is batting .370 during a 12-game hitting streak.
–Field Level Media
