Hunter Greene just showed why the Reds could become a nightmare in October

Hunter Greene is one of the best pitchers in all of Major League Baseball, and he proved it on Thursday night against the Chicago Cubs. The Cincinnati Reds starter went start to finish in a must-win game and walked off the mound with his first complete game shutout of the season.

Greene was nearly perfect. An Elly De La Cruz error in the fifth, a two-out walk in the sixth, and double off the bat of Seiya Suzuki in the seventh were the only blemishes on an otherwise stellar performance from the Reds ace.

The Reds are still in the playoff mix. As of Friday, Cincinnati is just two games back of the New York Mets in the hunt for that final NL Wild Card spot, and the Reds hold the tiebreaker. After watching Greene utterly dominate one of the best offenses in the sport on Thursday night, you can rest assured that no team wants to play the Reds in the Wild Card Series.

Hunter Greene just showed why the Reds could become a nightmare in the MLB Postseason

The Reds lineup might have to scrap and dig in order to score runs, but the pitching staff has absolutely no problem keeping the opposition off the scoreboard. As a team, the Reds rank seventh in runs allowed this season despite playing inside the bandbox that is Great American Ball Park. When you narrow the scope, you'll see that Reds' starters are tied with the Cubs for the fifth-lowest ERA (3.85) in the National League this season.

When healthy, Greene has been Cincinnati's best pitcher. With the Reds' ace in and out of the rotation at various point this season due to injury, fans saw Andrew Abbott step up and become the team's No. 1 option. The lefty has struggled a bit down the stretch, and the mantle of ace has been passed back to Greene.

Throw in Brady Singer — who's been the Reds' stopper this season — along with lanky lefty Nick Lodolo, and opponents will surely want no part of Cincinnati's rotation in a short-series. The Wild Card round is only a three-game series, and if Greene is on the bump for Game 1, Terry Francona is going to like his team's chances.

The Reds need to get hot, and if they hope to keep their playoff dreams alive, may only be able to stumble once over the final week of the regular season. The Reds sit at 77-76 with just nine games left. If Cincinnati can end the year with 85 (maybe 84) wins, they've got a great chance to not only make it back to the postseason, but make some noise once they get there.

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