Hunter Greene battles through adversity and picks up the win versus the Cubs

When the Cincinnati Reds put Hunter Greene in the starting rotation at the beginning of the season, the coaching staff’s goal was to allow him to develop by pitching through adversity in MLB.

The Reds already knew that Greene could overpower hitters in Triple-A. The coaches wanted to challenge him and see how he responded against MLB caliber hitters when his velocity was down, when his command was off or when the pressure in the game was high.

On Thursday at Great American Ball Park, Greene faced a brand new obstacle for him in the big leagues: pitching in the pouring rain.

Greene got a crucial out in the third inning in the rain against the Chicago Cubs. The Reds won, 20-5, but the game turned in the third inning. Following that out by Greene, the Reds scored eight runs in the bottom of the inning to turn a one-run deficit into a seven-run lead.

"To be honest, this was the first time I've had to throw through something like that," Greene said. "It's my stats at the end of the day and one pitch can put the team in a bad position ... I went to the rosin bag and the rosin bag was soaking wet. I was trying to find anything to get the ball over. It was nice to get that last out there."

In the top of the third inning, the Reds were trailing, 3-2. As the rain increased, Greene threw a few wet balls to the dugout, and he kept trying to dry the ball off with his hands and on his pants.

At one point, Greene grabbed the rosin bag to try to dry his hands, and Reds manager David Bell walked onto the field to check with the umpire about the status of the game.

The Cubs had a runner on base, and an extra-base hit here in the third could have changed the game. Instead, Greene pitched through the adversity and got Cubs third baseman Patrick Wisdom, the best power hitter on the Cubs, to line out to center field.

It started raining again in the fifth inning, and Greene allowed back-to-back homers. The wind was so strong on Thursday that the Reds weren’t able to use their celebratory fireworks after home runs. Greene had a learning experience pitching through the weather, and he allowed five runs in five innings with six strikeouts.

"I don't want to dwell on my performance today," Greene said. "It was not how I wanted it to go. But I'm really happy for these guys. It was really nice to see (the offense) get on the board early, and they didn't let up. They had really good at-bats and saw the ball well."

Following Wisdom’s lineout in the third inning, the Reds had one of their best offensive innings of the season.

Reds left fielder Tommy Pham tied the game with a double to left field. Pham has made good contact all season, but he entered the game with a .226 batting average. He said he wanted to start pulling the ball down the third base line more, and Pham got the result here that he was looking for.

Following a walk by Reds first baseman Joey Votto, catcher Tyler Stephenson hit a two RBI single to left field. Reds third base coach J.R. House put up the stop sign for Pham at third base, but Pham sprinted through it and slid safely into home plate.

The Reds started to pull ahead on their way to scoring 20 runs.

"We haven't had too many of those, and they don't come around too often," Reds manager David Bell said. "For us, those games can carry over. Offensively, our guys are working so hard, so to have some big days and get some hits ... we did a really good job of keeping getting them."

Later in the inning, the Cubs intentionally walked pinch-hitter Tyler Naquin to load the bases. The Cubs chose to face left fielder Albert Almora Jr., who started his career with Chicago.

Almora Jr. took one of his best swings of the season, singled to left field and drove in two more runs.

Reds shortstop Kyle Farmer had the first multi-home run game of his career. He homered to left field in the second inning to put the Reds on the board and again in the fifth inning.

Farmer had missed the first three games of the series with back soreness, but he came back and had one of his best games of the season. He added a two-RBI single in the sixth inning and finished the game with five RBI, which tied his career high.

After the Reds offense had its best game of the season, Cincinnati got the split in the four-game series versus Chicago.

"Splitting the series, especially against the Cubs in your division, gives the guys in the clubhouse some confidence," Farmer said. "Our lineup, we hit the ball really well today. We've got to keep carrying it on."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds score 20 runs, split series vs. Cubs