Reds now need Hunter Greene to clean up Terry Francona’s costly mistake

Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona had the chance to shakeup the starting rotation, but chose instead to stand pat. The Reds' off-day on Monday provided the opportunity for Francona to send Hunter Greene to the hill for Tuesday's series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Instead, the Reds' skipper went with Brady Singer.

The results were not pretty. Though Singer battled, the right-hander surrendered a four-spot in the second inning of Tuesday's game against the Pirates, and the Reds lost by a final score of 4-2. Singer's track record against Pittsburgh this season has not been good.

Before Tuesday's start, Singer was 1-2 versus the Bucs and had allowed 10 runs in 13⅔ innings this season. After the Reds' series opening loss, Singer is now 1-3 with a 6.16 ERA against Pittsburgh. With the New York Mets victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night, the Reds have fallen one game back in the chase for the final NL Wild Card spot.

Reds now need Hunter Greene to clean up Terry Francona’s costly mistake

Now it's up to Greene to right Francona's wrong. It's quite baffling, honestly, that Francona decided to forgo the opportunity to allow his ace to pitch on regular rest AND pick up another start before the end of the season during a six-game stretch that will effectively decide whether or not the Reds make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

The only logical reason that Francona decided not to skip Singer is due to the Pirates' starter who'll be opposing Greene on Wednesday night. Pittsburgh will send presumptive NL Cy Young Award-winner Paul Skenes to the bump, and Cincinnati will need Greene to keep the Pirates off the scoreboard in what should turn into quite the pitcher's duel.

With the Mets win on Tuesday and the Arizona Diamondbacks' victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, the pressure is squarely on Greene's shoulders to pitch up to his All-Star potential on Wednesday night. The Reds' flamethrower is built for moments like this.

While Francona's foolish decision not to send Greene to the mound on Tuesday could prove to be quite costly, the Reds' ace has a chance to prove his manager correct and help Cincinnati get a W on Wednesday night at Great American Ball Park.

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