Cincinnati Reds fall to Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 on Opening Day

A brutal Top of the 4th helped doom the Cincinnati Reds in their 2023 opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates, as four consecutive walks - the first by starter Hunter Greene, the latter three by reliever Fernando Cruz - left the Reds in an early 4-1 hole. Though they battled back to level the score 4-4 eventually, Ji-Hwan Bae manufactured a run via a walk, steal, sac-bunt, and sac-fly in the Top of the 8th to give the Pirates a 5-4 lead they would not relinquish.

It was a spoiler on Opening Day, really, as Greene began the game looking as dominant as a pitcher could be. He fired dozens of 100+ mph heaters past Pirates hitters, getting strikeouts as 8 of the first 10 outs of the game, but a…