SF Giants now know which pitcher they will face on Opening Day

The SF Giants have long known they would be facing the Cincinnati Reds on Opening Day later this month. They now know who will be on the mound for the Reds that day: Hunter Greene.

SF Giants now know which pitcher they will face on Opening Day

The Reds announced that Greene would be the Opening Day starter in a move that is probably as surprising as the Giants tabbing Logan Webb as their starter for the first game of the year.

Webb will tie Tim Lincecum for the third-most Opening Day starts in franchise history with four. Only Madison Bumgarner (5) and Juan Marichal (10) have made more Opening Day starts in franchise history.

Catching up to Marichal will be a tough one to do. Webb is still on the younger side and could catch Bumgarner as soon as next year. Bumgarner would have made six straight Opening Day starts but he sustained a fractured finger in his final tuneup game in 2018. Ty Blach took the hill for him in a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On the other hand, the Giants will have their hands full with Greene. This will be his second Opening Day start in his young career. His first came in 2023, where he recorded a no-decision in a 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Despite Cincinnati's extensive history, there is no one like Marichal in their record books in terms of Opening Day starts. That said, Mario Soto did make six Opening Day starts for Cincinnati in the 1980's.

Some recent Reds pitchers have gotten close to that mark. Aaron Harang made five Opening Day starts for Cincinnati within the last 20 years. Johnny Cueto had four of his own.

Greene is very deserving of the honor. He is coming off his best year yet in which he registered a 2.75 ERA, 3.47 FIP, 1.10 WHIP, 10.1 K/9, and a 2.96 SO/W rate in 26 starts. Similar to Logan Webb, the hard-throwing righty earned his first NL All-Star bid while earning some down-ballot NL Cy Young votes.

Giants hitters will need to be prepared for velocity, as Greene's four-seam fastball averaged 97.6 MPH in 2024. He pairs this with a slider, splitter, and an occasional curveball. Despite the four-pitch arsenal, Greene's pitch mix leans heavily on his fastball-slider combo.