Reds raise their game after Greene's early exit

CINCINNATI -- There's never a good time for the Reds to see one of their best starting pitchers leave a game early with an injury. Hunter Greene getting hurt during Monday night's series opener vs. the Rays was particularly bad timing for Cincinnati's recently overused bullpen.

The Reds turned the situation into the young season's most satisfying win, beating the best team in baseball in an 8-1 victory over the Rays at Great American Ball Park.

"To come out and play that team the way we did tonight, especially with Hunter going down and seeing the way the team lifted each other up, is huge for us," said Kevin Newman, who went 3-for-4 with a second-inning home run. "I think that people are really starting to see [we're] not going to go down without a fight, and we’re willing to do that."

Greene's smooth outing came to a premature end after he was hit by a sharp grounder on the right leg in the top of the third inning. He was diagnosed with a right tibia contusion, and X-rays were negative.

Christian Bethancourt opened the third inning by hitting a leadoff double to left field off Greene. Next, Yandy Díaz hit a sharp shot with a 97 mph exit velocity off Greene, with the ball skipping toward first baseman Wil Myers, who touched the bag for the out.

"It hurt really bad when it hit me," Greene said.

Reds manager David Bell and a trainer checked on Greene, who threw some warmup pitches before continuing. The right-hander struck out Brandon Lowe with a changeup and got Randy Arozarena to pop out to end the inning.

“I really wanted to finish that inning," Greene said. "I knew I could finish it. As soon as I came in and kind of stood and wasn’t really moving and activating it, it tightened up right away. It would be foolish to go back out there. I really wanted to just go out there and be able to compete for the team, but I would be using nothing but arm, and it’s too early in the season and it wouldn’t make sense.”

Reliever Buck Farmer took over in the fourth and pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Greene allowed three hits over three scoreless innings with no walks and one strikeout while throwing 47 pitches (31 strikes).

"When you have something like that happen in the first game of the series … you immediately [worry]," Reds right fielder Jake Fraley said. "You've still got the rest of the series against the best team in baseball. This could get real ugly depleting our bullpen. Buck having to come in in a [tough] situation like that out of nowhere -- they did an absolutely incredible job."

Tampa Bay, which tied an AL/NL record with 13 straight wins to open the season, was unable to capitalize on Greene's premature departure for multiple reasons.

• The Reds’ bullpen allowed one run over the final six innings. It marked the third time in four games that the bullpen has had to cover for a short outing by the rotation. Connor Overton lasted three-plus innings on Friday vs. the Phillies in a 6-2 loss, and Luis Cessa did likewise while allowing 11 runs and 14 hits during Sunday's 14-3 loss to Philadelphia.

"It was kind of like, 'Whoever is up next, go in and dominate,'" said lefty Alex Young, who replaced Farmer in the fifth inning and also pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings. "We’ve been pitching well. Obviously, some stuff just didn’t go our way. I feel like they’re going to start going our way. I love this group. It’s a fun group to be around. To get wins against really good teams, it’s fun."

• Newman finished a triple shy of the cycle, and TJ Friedl contributed four RBIs, including a three-run double in the fourth inning.

• There was great defense, both times with Manuel Margot hitting for the Rays. Left fielder Stuart Fairchild made a sliding catch in the fifth inning on a ball with an expected batting average of .980, according to Statcast. Fraley had the defensive gem of the game, making a diving catch of Margot's fly ball to shallow right field to end the sixth with the bases loaded. Statcast had the expected batting average on Margot’s looper at .880.

"That was one of the best plays I've seen all year that Jake made off the bat," Bell said. "Off the bat, it was a hit, and he came out of nowhere and all-out made a great play."

The only negative, of course, was Greene's sore leg. The club hopes he won't have to miss his next turn to pitch.

"Those types of contusions, you have to be on top of it, because they can turn into a bigger issue," Bell said. "I know our training staff has been on top of it, and as of right now, our goal is to have him make his next start."