The Reds right-hander, however, admitted after the game he didn’t have his full arsenal of pitches.
“I honestly didn’t have any of my stuff today, so I was just trying to pitch and do my job and keep the team in the game,” Greene said. “That’s really all I had.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Five of Greene’s eight strikeouts came on fastballs. He struck out two batters with his slider and another with his curveball. He relied mostly on his fastball and slider throughout the game.
“Obviously, it’s not the first time I’ve been in that situation,” Greene said. “It’s about pitching. Most of your starts, you’re not going to have your best stuff, so part of being a professional and playing at the highest stage is still being able to get the job done. That’s where my mind went and tried not to dwell on my (secondary pitches) too much.”
The most crucial at-bat of the game came in the top of the fourth inning. With two outs and a runner on first base, the Giants’ Heliot Ramos worked an 11-pitch at-bat, fouling off five straight Greene fastballs before hitting another fastball over the right field wall to cut the Reds lead to 3-2.
“It was a duel,” Greene said. “I didn’t have my secondary (pitches) so maybe that would’ve been a better thing if I had just walked him. Being able to slow the game down in that situation, maybe having the next guy come up. I’ve had really good at-bats against (Ramos), so I obviously trusted my stuff.”
The 28-pitch fourth inning “probably cost (Greene) the sixth inning,” said Reds manager Terry Francona.
“I thought he was explosive when he was throwing his off-speed for strikes,” Francona said. “I give (Ramos) credit, he had a good at-bat. After about his seventh foul ball, he hit that ball to right for the two-run homer, which was huge not only for the scoreboard, but maybe allowing us to send Hunter out for another inning.”
Strikeouts galore: The Reds tied a franchise record for strikeouts on Opening Day with 17, set in 2013 in 3-1, 13-inning loss to the Angels.
The bullpen was stellar - until Ian Gibaut walked Jung Ho Lee with two outs in the top of the ninth - striking out nine in the final four innings.
Scott Barlow, Emilio Pagán and Tony Santillan all threw scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Gibaut also had two strikeouts and Sam Moll added another in relief of Gibaut.
Tying Rose: Jeimer Candelario’s three RBIs tied Pete Rose for the most by a switch hitter on Opening Day since 1900. On April 8, 1985, Rose went 2-for-3 with three RBIs in the Reds 4-1 victory over the Montreal Expos at Riverfront Stadium.
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