6-25-24 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
Another day, another repeated Reds matchup as Pirates send out Mitch Keller to once again face off against Cincinnati flamethrower in Hunter Greene.
Last week, Greene tossed 6.1 scoreless innings of 2-hit ball against the Bucs with zero walks and 9 strikeouts over his 106 pitches thrown. It was one of Greene’s most dominant performances to date and one the Pirates hope he does not repeat tonight.
Greene relied heavily on his fastball/slider combo in that last start, making up 85 of his total pitches thrown and generating 16 of his 17 whiffs. Opponents have an expected batting average of under .200 for both offerings so it’s a tall task for these struggling bats to pick it up against Greene today.
He’s likely going to work the heater up in the zone and drop the slider down and away from right-handed hitters or in on lefties.
Patience at the plate is key. Work counts and try to get on base via walk as only 8 qualified starters have a worse mark than Greene’s 10.1% walk rate. If he goes 6+, you’re going to be in trouble.
Let’s Go Bucs!
Steel City Pirates 
Good thoughts. They did that a little, but to me it was more: Sometimes you’re the dinker (last night), and sometimes you’re the dinkee (versus the Rays at PNC Park recently). Of course, later on they opened up with the power.
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