Instant Reaction: Hunter Greene Dominates, Reds Beat Nationals 6-1

CINCINNATI -- Don't look now, but the Reds are 16-9 since starting 2-6. That's playing some good baseball, the latest game resulting in a 6-1 win over the Washington Nationals Friday night.

The Reds are showing why they're a good team. They have a legitimate ace in Hunter Greene, and they can score runs in a variety of ways. That keeps pressure on opposing teams, which is great to see. Cincinnati is setting the tone when they take the field on the mound and at the plate, and it's a stark contrast from previous Reds teams.

All of those attributes of this Reds team were on display in Friday night's win as we look at some takeaways from the Reds win on the first Friday night of May.

Takeaways from Reds win over the Nationals Friday

1. Hunter Greene was otherworldly on Friday night, pitching six innings with 12 strikeouts and allowing just one run on two hits. Not only that, but Greene threw 114 pitches with 83 thrown for strikes. That's nearly 73 percent of his 114 pitches being thrown for strikes.

Even more impressive, Friday night's game was delayed by nearly two hours before it started. Starting pitchers can be creatures of habit with their routines, and the delayed start can have an impact on them. It didn't impact Greene on Friday night.

2. How great was it to see Greene's battery mate, Tyler Stephenson, back behind the plate Friday night? Making his 2025 debut, Stephenson got his first big knock of the season by lining a two-run double down the left field line in the bottom of the third.

The Reds catcher also had two runs scored on Friday night while also walking in his first plate appearance in the bottom of the second. Stephenson is an addition to this Reds team that can only bolster an offense that's finding its rhythm. As this team gets healthier, its lineup gets better. That's a good sign.

3. Another good sign? Reds pitching right now is on a heater. After their bullpen retired 37 straight batters going back to Wednesday night against the Cardinals, Reds relievers kept the Nationals off the scoreboard across the final three innings on Friday night.

Seventeen striekouts. 17! That's how many strikeouts Reds pitching had in a dominant performance Friday night.

Greene had 12 of them, and the Reds bullpen had five over the last three innings. Reds pitchers combined for 165 pitches, with 112 thrown for strikes. Overpowering the Nationals; that's what Reds pitchers did on Friday night.

4. The Reds finding multiple ways to score runs game in and game out keeps getting more impressive. Friday night, the Reds scored six runs on seven hits. None of those runs came via the home run.

In the bottom of the first inning, Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz walked with one out. With two outs, Santiago Espinal delivered a two-run double to put the Reds in front 2-0. One inning later, Stephenson walked, Blake Dunn was hit by a pitch, TJ Friedl singled and McLain drove in Stephenson with an RBI fielders' choice. Stephenson delivered his two-run double in the third, before igniting the Reds rally in the bottom of the sixth with a ground-rule double. Trevino singled him to third before Friedl drove in Stephenson with a sacrafice fly.

A two-run single, an RBI fielders choice, a two-run double and a sacrafice fly; that's how the Reds scored their six runs Friday night. Not to mention, the Reds worked four walks in the first four innings to run Nationals starting pitcher Mitchell Parker's pitch count to 83 pitches after just four innings.

This Reds team can score in bunches and many different ways. That makes them a fun team to watch and a dangerous team as we get deeper into May.

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