On Sunday, the Cincinnati Reds made history, just not in the way they probably wanted.
In the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 1-0 win against the last-place Reds, Cincinnati young pitcher Hunter Greene was unhittable.
For 7.1 innings, the young prospect didn’t allow any hits, but since he had 118 pitches in the eighth inning, his manager decided to pull him.
The Pirates manufactured a run via walks and a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the eighth, and that would be enough to win the ballgame.
As a result, the Pirates became the first team since 2008 to win an MLB game without any hits.
The Reds Join A Tiny List Of Teams That Allow No Hits In A Game And Lose
On the other hand, it’s just the sixth time in the history of MLB that a team has allowed no hits in eight or nine innings and still lost.
The 2022 season keeps getting weirder for the much-maligned Reds, which were actually in a bit of a surge before yesterday’s fiasco.
Pirates starter Jose Quintana was on his game on Sunday and didn’t allow anything to the Reds’ hitters.
His control was better than Greene’s, and that wound up being the deciding factor in the close affair.
“Final line for Hunter Greene: 7.1ip / 0h / 9k / LOSS The 2022 Reds ladies and gentlemen,” MLB analyst Ben Verlander tweeted.
Final line for Hunter Greene:
7.1ip / 0h / 9k / LOSS
The 2022 Reds ladies and gentlemen
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) May 15, 2022
Missing in that line were the five walks Greene handed to Pirates hitters, two of which came in the eighth frame, when Pittsburgh manufactured its run.
It was yet another sad day in a season full of them for the Reds, but in the midst of all the comments, Greene looked much, much better than he had looked in a while, and that has to be a positive development for the franchise.
NEXT: Reds Allowed No Hits And Still Found A Way To Lose