'I wasn't coming out': Greene gets sick in tough 1st

CINCINNATI -- Against the Pirates on Tuesday, Hunter Greene threw one pitch to his second batter of the game -- Bryan Reynolds -- before the Reds starting pitcher suddenly turned and threw up on the mound.

A similar issue happened in Greene's previous start last Wednesday at Pittsburgh. Although it wasn't quite as pronounced then, he blamed that one on being overhydrated.

As for Tuesday?

“I can’t say that because I did the opposite this time," Greene said. "I tried not to have the same result as last time. I’m not going to sit here and make a big deal out of it because it’s not a big deal. But I’m going to take some pills and stuff like that to help with my stomach and hope it goes away.”

A few pitches after Greene puked, Reynolds crushed a two-run home run to send Pittsburgh on its way to handing the Reds a 9-5 defeat at Great American Ball Park.

Greene, who came in with a 1.55 career ERA vs. the Pirates, tied a season low with four innings pitched. He equaled a season high with six earned runs allowed along with seven hits, two walks and five strikeouts.

“It’s not part of a routine, it’s not part of anything, so it’s going to throw you off," Greene said of the odd incident. "Mentally, you’re going to be thinking about that a little bit more than making pitches. You just try to do your best I guess in that situation, in that mindset, and focus on what you need to do. It’s not easy, but I wasn’t coming out of that game and knew I wasn’t. I had to try and make do with it.”

The Reds have gone 0-6 in Greene's six career starts against Pittsburgh.

One poor night is being viewed as just a blip on the screen for Greene. He entered the night 5-0 with a 2.80 ERA over his previous 10 starts.

“I did really well with getting ahead today, but I wasn’t putting guys away," Greene said.

With one out in the first, Greene issued his second walk of the inning to Rowdy Tellez. With two outs and after Tellez stole second base, Nick Gonzales made it a 3-0 game with an RBI single to right field. Greene needed 32 pitches to labor through the top of the first.

“It was a tough first inning. I’m not out there, but I have to believe getting sick on the mound has some sort of effect," Reds manager David Bell said. "I think Hunter has been so good for us. He kind of needs to just put this one behind him.”

In the third inning, the first five Pirates batters hit singles, leading to another three-run frame against Greene. Reynolds started it off with his single to right field, followed by hits from Oneil Cruz and Tellez to load the bases with no outs.

“It’s frustrating," said Greene, who retired his final six batters. "They were pitches that were on the corners or up and in. I executed those pitches and still wasn’t able to get the result. That’s the unfortunate thing about the game.”

A defensive gaffe followed with costly consequences on Edward Olivares' single to right field. One run had already crossed before Jake Fraley nonchalantly walked the ball toward the infield and lobbed it to Elly De La Cruz at second base. Cruz alertly raced home for a second run.

Rather than criticize his own player when asked about the play, Bell credited Pittsburgh.

“Jake threw it softly into Elly, and they were tracking it the whole way and took advantage of it," Bell said. "It’s something that we’ve done on the bases, and they did a nice job. It’s just one of those plays where you either come up and throw it hard into Elly, or maybe even better to Spencer [Steer] since he’s the cutoff man there.”

Earlier in the day, top-performing starter Nick Lodolo went on the 15-day injured list because of a blister on his left index finger. In the recalibrated rotation, Graham Ashcraft will fill in for the start in Wednesday's rubber game of the series.

In 12 starts before his demotion to Triple-A Louisville earlier this month, Ashcraft posted a 5.05 ERA. He appeared to find his footing in the Minor Leagues during his two starts -- both lasting six innings -- posting a 3.00 ERA.

“We’re excited to see Graham is coming back," Greene said. "I sent him a nice text. Not that he needs it. He’s very motivated already and locked in and excited to get back here."