Reds ace Hunter Greene follows Cubs shutout with message fans need to hear

Hunter Greene was lights out on Thursday night against the Chicago Cubs. The Cincinnati Reds ace finished off his first career shutout in dominant fashion, striking out Cubs outfielder Ian Happ on his 109th pitch of the game to seal the victory over their division rivals. Greene went the full nine with nine punch outs and allowed just one hit — a double in the seventh inning off the bat of Seiya Suzuki.

The Reds won the game by a final score of 1-0, and Greene's performance helped keep Cincinnati's playoff hopes alive. The Reds will head into Friday's games against the Cubs trailing the New York Mets by just two games in the chase for the final spot in the NL Wild Card.

But during the postgame press conference, Greene had a message to the Reds fanbase — get out to the ballpark and support your team. "I wish there were a little more fans in the stands, but for the fans that were here, I'm glad I was able to put on a show for them and we were able to get a win tonight," Greene said.

Hunter Greene follows Cubs shutout with message to Reds fans — get out to the ballpark

The total attendance for Thursday's game against the Cubs was just a meager 18,532, and at least one-third were probably there to support the Cubs. That's downright embarrassing, Reds fans.

Those are the type of numbers you'd expect from a team that's already been eliminated from postseason play and is just going through motions during the final two weeks of the season. Cincinnati, however, could literally surpass the Mets in the Wild Card standings this weekend, and yet, the fans aren't showing up.

Though it's difficult to fully blame the fanbase for a lack of enthusiasm — especially after the comments from Reds President Phil Castellini back in 2022 — but if the city of Cincinnati wants to be considered a baseball town, they need to pack the park over the final six games of the regular season.

"The more support we can get, obviously the better," Greene said. "We're already motivated enough for us to go out there and win. I'm not saying we can only win if we have fans. But you see the best teams that are winning and doing their thing, and they have that atmosphere that they're in. It's something we strive for. Hopefully we can bring that back."

The Reds are in this things, folks! Get out to the ballpark and give these guys the push they need to bring October baseball back to Cincinnati.

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