'He's right on track': Greene making strides towards frontline starter

CINCINNATI -- The Phillies offered Hunter Greene and the Reds a glimpse of what they hope their future can be Monday night.

One of baseball's best rotations through the first month was on full display once again in the craftsmanship of lefty Ranger Suárez.

The Reds managed just two hits -- an infield single by Stuart Fairchild in the first and a liner in the fifth by Christian Encarnacion-Strand -- as the Phillies blanked the Reds, 7-0.

Suárez, who struck out five and walked one, was not overpowering yet kept the Reds off balance all night. He needed just 88 pitches to finish his seven innings with precision and there were precious few good swings against him. When the Reds did connect, like Tyler Stephenson and Jeimer Candelario did in the seventh, the balls found the gloves of Phillies’ outfielders.

Through 23 games, arguably no staff in baseball can match the quintet of Suárez, Cristopher Sánchez, Spencer Turnbull, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.

The Reds have visions of Greene, Nick Lodolo, Frankie Montas, Graham Ashcraft and Andrew Abbott replicating what the Phillies have shown in the first month.

Over the last seven games, Philadelphia’s starters have allowed three earned runs over 51 2/3 innings (0.52 ERA) with 53 strikeouts. It’s a big reason why the Phillies are off to a 15-8 start, their best since 2018.

“I know they've been really good at a [high] level through the postseason, and I know they're on quite a roll right now, too,” Reds manager David Bell said. “So sure, it's something for us to shoot for. We're not comparing ourselves to anyone else. We like where we are. We're continuing to work to get better each time out. We really believe we have the foundation to have a really strong starting staff. I'll take our guys all the time, but certainly across the other side, they've had a lot of success over there and I know their starting pitching is a big reason why.”

Greene showed signs early of the efficiency he’s aiming for, retiring all three batters in the first inning on 12 pitches, all strikes, all on fastballs.

But from there, the Phillies did just enough to make his night frustrating, scoring a single run in each of the next four innings to take a 4-0 lead after five.

“I thought I pitched well [and] did a lot better with attacking the zone,” Greene said. “I was better with [my] pitch count. So I was happy with that but I’ve got to do a better job with getting the first guy out. I think that's what kind of threw [me] off those three or four innings. It's tough when a guy hits a triple and [I’m] trying to get three outs with a dude on third. So just got to be able to stay in attack mode and try and get those early outs.”

Like he did against Milwaukee on April 10, Greene made the most of a losing effort on Monday, setting down the side in order in the sixth and seventh, requiring just 14 pitches in the sixth and eight in the seventh.

The outing in some ways mirrored that six-inning start against the Brewers, when he surrendered seven runs (six earned) on seven hits. That night he managed to save the bullpen on a night they needed it.

“I know Hunter wants to be perfect out there and not give up any runs,” Bell said. “I mentioned some things to build on, and that's definitely one of them. Hunter wants to win games for us but you know he wants to do it in a way where he's going deep into the game and being the guy out there. So really good.”

Monday night, the Reds were coming off back-to-back games in which the bullpen was taxed. Brent Suter went 3 1/3 innings on Sunday, Emilio Pagán pitched two and Nick Martinez moved to the rotation to take the place of the injured Frankie Montas.

“You're constantly managing the pressure you put on yourself and pressure from outside,” Bell said of Greene. “I mean, it is a privilege as they say, but at the same time it's not easy, especially for a young pitcher like Hunter who has high expectations for himself.

“It's constant support for all of our players the best we can and I do believe Hunter is doing a great job of managing that himself. And he's right on track. He just needs to keep doing what he's doing.”