Hunter Greene's meltdown vs. Dodgers confirms reality Reds fans don't want to admit

The Cincinnati Reds' first playoff game since 2020 didn't go as planned. The Reds' Game 1 starter Hunter Greene gave up a leadoff home run to Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, and it snowballed from there.

Greene was pulled after just three innings. The Reds' fireballer surrendered five earned runs on six hits — three of which left the yard. He struck out four and walked two before being lifted in favor of Scott Barlow.

Most Reds fans were excited to see Greene get the ball in Game 1. But his performance on Tuesday night was a painful reminder that while Greene is a solid frontline starter, he's not the ace that many fans throughout Reds Country portray him to be.

Hunter Greene's collapse vs. Dodgers proves that he can no longer be called the Reds ace

The term is ace is tossed about far too often, and has been attached to Greene at certain points throughout his career. After an All-Star campaign in 2024, Greene looked to be on his way to holding a firm grasp to that mantle.

But this season, Greene failed to stay healthy (again), spent two separate stints on the IL with a nagging groin injury, and only started 19 games. His 107⅔ innings pitched this season are a career-low. It's difficult to be deemed the team's ace when you're unable to answer the bell consistently.

Furthermore, as former Reds All-Star infielder Zack Cozart pointed out via Xon Tuesday night, no other team scored more than three runs during the opening games of the Wild Card Series. The Boston Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees 3-1, the Chicago Cubs outlasted the San Diego Padres 3-1, and the Cleveland Guardians feel to the Detroit Tigers by a final score of 2-1.

The Red Sox (Garrett Crochet), Yankees (Max Fried), Tigers (Tarik Skubal), Padres (Nick Pivetta), and Guardians (Gavin Williams) all sent their ace to the hill on Tuesday. The Cubs top pitcher, Cade Horton, was sidelined with an injury, and Chicago went with Matthew Boyd.

And let's not act like this is the first time in recent memory Greene stepped onto the mound in a critical game and failed to live up to the moment. In what was a must-win game two weeks ago against the Athletics, Greene couldn't even make it out of the third inning. He threw 84 pitches in 2⅓ innings and allowed five runs on four hits along with four walks.

Greene has all the talent in the world to be a true ace, as evidenced by his 12-strikeout performance against the New York Mets and his complete game shutout against the Chicago Cubs. But Greene's inconsistency and inability to stay healthy don't warrant the title of ace, and until he corrects those issues, Reds fans should stop using it.

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