Reds' Greene makes MLB history with latest scoreless start

Hunter Greene's got opposing hitters feeling mighty blue these days.

The Cincinnati Reds ace was once again almost unhittable Saturday and etched himself a place in the record books during a dominant performance against the San Francisco Giants. Greene allowed just one hit over six shutout innings while striking out 11 in a 6-4 win.

It was Greene's fifth consecutive start allowing one or fewer runs with no more than three hits and his third straight shutout performance. The outing made him the first pitcher in the modern era to allow no more than one run and no more than 10 hits over a five-start span, according to OptaStats. He's also just the second pitcher to do all of that while tallying 40-plus strikeouts in a five-start span, joining Jacob deGrom who did it in 2021, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com.

The outing extended Greene's scoreless streak to 21 innings, which started July 11. His ERA since the start of July is an eye-popping 0.27.

The right-hander also tied Johnny Vander Meer's Reds record by tallying his sixth consecutive start with one or zero runs allowed, according to Langs. Vander Meer set the mark in 1938 during a run that famously included back-to-back no-hitters.

Greene, who will turn 25 on Tuesday, has allowed no more than two runs in eight of his last nine starts dating back to June 14. The run has lowered his ERA from 3.61 in early June down to 2.83, the fifth-lowest mark in the majors. His .182 opponent's average is also the lowest in the NL among qualified pitchers.