Reds visit Braves, ask ace Hunter Greene to stop team’s 4-game skid

The Cincinnati Reds will send ace Hunter Greene to the mound on Wednesday, tasking him with trying to try end a four-game losing streak when they meet the Atlanta Braves on the road.

It will be the third game of their four-game series. The Braves won the first two games — 4-0 on Monday and 2-1 in 10 innings on Tuesday — and have a three-game winning streak. The Reds have lost six of their past eight.

Greene (4-2, 2.53 ERA) will be matched against fellow right-hander Grant Holmes (2-2, 4.24).

Greene has won two straight and is coming off a 6-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday when he allowed a one run over six innings and struck out a season-high 12 batters. Greene has five quality starts and has struck out at least eight in five of his seven starts.

“His stuff was dominant,” Reds manager Terry Francona said after the Nationals game. “First time through the order he threw some really good offspeed pitches. They made some adjustments. Not getting hits, but they made him work.”

Greene said, “Twelve K’s against a big league team isn’t easy to do. To accomplish that on the last pitch and see the ball enter the glove, I like to get fired up. It was warranted in that situation.”

Greene has made three career starts against Atlanta, going 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA. He faced the Braves once last season and threw seven scoreless innings in a 4-1 victory. He has 24 strikeouts in 18 innings against the free-swinging Braves.

Holmes pitched well but took a loss in his most recent start on Friday against the Dodgers. He limited Los Angeles to two runs and four hits over six innings and struck out nine batters, but he took the loss in the 2-1 defeat.

It was the fourth outing in which Holmes has allowed three or fewer runs and erased the bad feelings from his start on April 26 when he gave up three homers and six runs to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Atlanta won 8-7 in 10 innings, but Holmes didn’t figure into the decision.

“I’d hate to think where we’d be without [Holmes],” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “Because we’d be dipping into the depth and probably bringing guys up before we wanted to.”

Holmes has made three career appearances, one start, against the Reds, and posted a 4.15 ERA. His start came on Sept. 17, 2024, and he allowed two runs over four innings in the 6-5 win.

The Reds were without third baseman Noelvi Marte on Tuesday. He was in the original lineup but complained of left side pain while in the batting cage and was scratched 15 minutes before first pitch.

“He got hit by a pitch in Louisville, so that’s been kind of bothering him,” Francona said. “He was going to play and then he said it was grabbing him, so we’re going to get him looked at.”

Marte is hitting .294 and has 17 RBIs and eight extra-base hits since being promoted from Triple-A Louisville on April 17.

The Reds announced left fielder Tyler Callihan will miss six the eight weeks after requiring surgery to repair two broken bones in his left forearm. Callihan suffered the injury after crashing into the wall on Monday. He was replaced on the roster by Jacob Hurtubise, who was recalled from Louisville.

–Field Level Media