The Cincinnati Reds needed a transcendent performance to maintain a chance of chasing down the final NL Wild Card spot.
Hunter Greene delivered about as magnificent a gem as you could imagine.
The basic stats are astounding enough. Greene threw a one-hit complete game shutout with one walk and nine strikeouts.
But when you dig into it, it gets even more incredible.
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Greene both set an all-time MLB record, and he made history that hadn’t been done since 2001.
First, the record: Greene became the first starting pitcher in the pitch tracking era to 100-plus miles per hour on his ninth-inning fastballs, per Codify.
Greene threw nine fastballs in the ninth inning on Thursday, and they averaged 100.4 miles per hour.
Goodness gracious.
He also joined Kerry Wood in MLB history.
Per OptaStats: “Hunter Greene of the Reds is the first MLB pitcher to throw a 1-hit shutout (or no-hitter) with 9+ strikeouts in under 2 hours since Kerry Wood did it on May 25, 2001.”
The Reds won just 1-0. Austin Hays doubled, then traded places with Will Benson on another double in the fourth inning.
That was all that was needed, because Greene was busy making history.
What a night in Cincinnati.
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