3 biggest overreactions from the Reds Opening Day loss to the Pirates

The Cincinnati Reds 2023 season is finally underway. Expectations were not high coming into the season following a 100-loss campaign a year ago, but Reds GM Nick Krall has put together a scrappy group of talented player who have their sights set on proving the doubters wrong this season.

The season did not get off to the best of starts. Reds Opening Day starter Hunter Greene made it through just 3.1 innings of work and Cincinnati's ninth inning rally came up just short as they lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates by a final score of 5-4.

There was good and bad, but more than anything, there was overreactions. Opening Day has a way of bringing extremely harsh or even optimistic thoughts to the forefront. Let's look at the three biggest overreactions from Reds Opening Day.

1. Overreactions from Reds Opening Day loss: Hunter Greene gives up too many home runs.

Hunter Greene was dealing to begin the game, wasn't he? The second-overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft was throwing straight gas. Greene even touched 105-mph on the radar gun at one point, though Statcast didn't record it as such. According to Baseball Savant, Greene' fastest pitch was 102.1-mph.

But a 100-plus mph fastball isn't fast enough to get past Oneil Cruz. The Pittsburgh Pirates shorstop turned on a 3-2 pitch and launched it into the Sun Deck at Great American Ball Park to knot the game at one run apiece. After seeing Greene surrender 24 gopher balls a year ago, it would be easy just shrug your shoulders and say, "Here we go again."

But that at-bat was clouded by a pitch clock violation after Greene had gotten ahead 0-2. Cruz worked his way back into the at-bat and a questionable ball made the count full. Cruz then jumped on the next pitch and blasted it into the seats.

Hunter Greene appeared to be off his game after the pitch clock violation, and it cost him. Obviously, after allowing so many home runs just a year ago, fans are a bit apprehensive when it comes to Greene and the long ball. But in Greene's final four games of 2022, the right-hander allowed just one home run. That's hope this is just an outlier.