The Cincinnati Reds are relying heavily on the youth movement in their starting rotation, and on Saturday afternoon, another young gun takes the mound in Denver. After left-hander Andrew Abbott opened the series against the Colorado Rockies on Friday night, it will be 25-year-old flamethrower Hunter Greene’s turn in Game 2 at hitter-friendly Coors Field.
Greene (2-2, 2.35 ERA) is quickly emerging as one of the more dynamic young pitchers in the National League. Armed with a fastball that consistently touches triple digits, Greene has taken a more aggressive approach in 2025, pounding the strike zone with confidence and conviction. According to The Athletic, he has thrown more pitches in the strike zone than any pitcher this season aside from Chicago Cubs rookie Shota Imanaga.
That newfound aggressiveness reflects the growth that the Reds’ coaching staff has been working to develop in Greene since his debut in 2022.
“I think he realizes him being fearless in the zone, it’s still going to produce good results,” Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson told The Athletic. “It’s like everything else we’ve ever talked about with him — there’s just been a growth. He’s continuing to show that.”
The results have largely been impressive. Greene posted 18 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings before running into trouble in his most recent outing against the Orioles. That game, played last Saturday in Baltimore, began with back-to-back home runs by the first two batters Greene faced. He lasted just three innings, giving up six hits and five runs in a 9–5 loss — his shortest outing of the season.
While the performance was a setback, it hasn’t shaken the confidence of his manager or coaching staff. In fact, Reds skipper Terry Francona offered nothing but support.
“If I had his stuff, I’d attack, too,” Francona said, backing Greene’s zone-heavy strategy.
Saturday’s matchup marks Greene’s fourth career start against Colorado and third at Coors Field — a ballpark known to challenge even the most seasoned pitchers. His previous numbers against the Rockies reflect that challenge. In three starts, he is 1-1 with a 6.91 ERA. In the thin air of Denver, that ERA balloons to 10.80 in two prior appearances.
Greene will be opposed by Colorado right-hander Antonio Senzatela (1-3, 4.81 ERA), a veteran presence on a Rockies pitching staff that has struggled mightily in 2025. Senzatela earned his first win in nearly two years last weekend, throwing a solid outing in the nightcap of a doubleheader against the Nationals. The victory was just the second by a Rockies starting pitcher all season.
Senzatela has faced the Reds five times in his career, going 2-1 with a 5.76 ERA. Like Greene, he’s pitched to mixed results at Coors Field and will need run support from a Colorado lineup that’s just starting to find its rhythm after a rough start to the season.
Rockies Search for Stability Amidst Offensive Surge
The Rockies entered Saturday’s game with a 7-19 record and a 3-7 mark at home. Their season has been marred by a franchise-tying 13-game road losing streak and struggles across the board on the pitching side. But in recent games, there are glimmers of hope on offense, particularly since longtime manager and coach Clint Hurdle returned last week to serve as the team’s new hitting coach.
Under Hurdle’s guidance, the Rockies have scored 32 runs over their last seven games — a marked improvement from their sluggish start. A major part of that surge has come from rookie outfielder Jordan Beck, who has been on an absolute tear.
Beck has belted five home runs in the past three games, including three during Thursday’s doubleheader in Kansas City and two more on Friday night against the Reds. The power surge has already eclipsed his 2024 total (in just 14 games this season), and Rockies manager Bud Black has been impressed with his adjustments at the plate.
“It was good to see Jordan turn on a fastball — something that we’ve tried to get him aware of, and not guess on pitches,” Black said after Friday’s game. “All major league hitters have to be able to hit the fastball, because you get exposed awful quickly (if you can’t). That’s what’s happening to our young hitters over the last month or so.”
Beck’s emergence has added some much-needed firepower to a Colorado lineup that has underperformed so far. Other players like Ezequiel Tovar and Elehuris Montero are also showing signs of breaking out, making the Rockies a potentially dangerous opponent for an aggressive pitcher like Greene.
A Game of Contrasts: Youth, Power, and High Altitude
Saturday’s matchup features a clash of philosophies and trajectories. The Reds are a club on the rise, building around a promising rotation with arms like Abbott, Greene, and Nick Lodolo. Their willingness to let these pitchers learn and grow on the job is already paying dividends.
The Rockies, meanwhile, are in a transition phase, trying to lay a foundation for the future while dealing with inconsistency and limited pitching depth. With Beck swinging a hot bat and Hurdle injecting new life into the lineup, they’ll look to take advantage of Coors Field’s high altitude and put pressure on Greene early.
For the Reds, it’s another opportunity to see how far Hunter Greene has come — and how he handles the pressure of pitching in one of baseball’s most challenging environments.
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