Takeaways: Walks haunt Cincinnati Reds in Opening Day loss to Pittsburgh Pirates

On the first day of the 2023 season, as the Cincinnati Reds attempt to turn the chapter from last year’s 100-loss season, they have a 0-1 record after they beat themselves Thursday.

Reds pitchers issued nine walks to Pittsburgh Pirates hitters. With the score tied in the eighth inning, reliever Buck Farmer issued a leadoff walk to second baseman Ji Hwan Bae. That turned into Bae stealing second base, moving to third on a sacrifice bunt and scoring on a sacrifice fly.

Hunter Greene and Fernando Cruz combined to walk four consecutive batters in a three-run fourth inning, which played a huge part in the Reds’ 5-4 loss in front of a sold-out crowd of 44,063 at Great American Ball Park. It was the largest regular season crowd in the history of the ballpark.

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There were runners on the corners and one out in the fourth inning when Reds Manager David Bell made an early call to the bullpen. He replaced Greene after 3 1/3 innings and 83 pitches to use Cruz for the top of the Pirates lineup.

The move backfired when Cruz walked the first three batters he faced, which brought in two runs, and another run scored on a wild pitch. Cruz threw only 10 of his 24 pitches for strikes and recorded his lone out when third baseman Spencer Steer threw out a runner at the plate.

The offense responded when Steer hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth inning and Jason Vosler hit a two-out, two-run triple down the right field line in the fifth inning. Vosler was one of the last players to make the Reds’ Opening Day roster, replacing an injured Joey Votto at first base.

The Reds loaded the bases following Vosler’s triple, but former Reds reliever Dauri Moreta struck out Will Benson to keep the score tied. Benson struck out four times in his Reds debut.

It was Cincinnati’s first normal Opening Day – a full crowd and the Findlay Market Parade – in four years. There were no fans in 2020 and the season started in July. There were capacity limits for the crowd in 2021, capped below 12,300. Last year’s lockout forced the Reds to open the season on the road for the first time since 1990.

The pageantry returned. Votto and Jonathan India received the loudest ovations during the pregame introductions. Greene received a loud cheer when he took the mound. For an organization that wants to put last year in the past, the team that led the majors in walks saw the same issue spoil its start to the season.

Opening Day takeaways

1. There were generally no complaints about the pitch clock throughout spring training, but Hunter Greene’s third inning took a turn after he was called for a violation, an automatic ball, in a 0-2 count to Pirates leadoff batter Oneil Cruz.

Within two pitches, including one borderline call that Greene thought was a strike, Greene found himself in a full count. He left a 101-mph fastball over the heart of the plate and Cruz crushed it for a 425-foot homer halfway up the right field stands.

It turned into a 32-pitch inning for Greene and sunk his chances of pitching deep into the game. Greene permitted five hits and three walks while striking out eight.

2. The Reds didn’t have any loud contact against Pirates starter Mitch Keller until Steer drilled a solo homer over the wall in left center in the fourth inning. Steer, two pitches after Keller was hit with a pitch clock violation, drilled a hanging slider 435 feet.

Steer was rewarded with a Viking helmet and a cape upon his arrival into the dugout. It was the first homer of the season and his cape dropped from his shoulders after a few steps in the line of high fives.

3. Lefthanded reliever Alex Young, a nonroster invitee who pitched his way onto the Opening Day roster with a strong camp, provided a lot of stability for the bullpen. He pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings against a lefty-heavy part of the Pirates lineup after Fernando Cruz walked three of the four batters he faced.

Young, 29, stranded two runners in the fourth inning when he struck out Canaan Smith-Njigba and he made an excellent defensive play in the fifth inning when he fielded a well-placed bunt.

Stat of the day

Greene threw 44 fastballs above 100 mph, three shy of the record he set for pitches above 100 mph in a game since pitch tracking data was collected in 2008. He had 21 fastballs above 101 mph and two above 102 mph.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds vs. Pirates Opening Day game: Walks haunt Hunter Greene, bullpen