MLB Scores: Hunter Greene throws 6 hitless innings as Cincinnati Reds pound Chicago Cubs 9-0

Hunter Greene threw six hitless innings and the Cincinnati Reds came within six outs of the first no-hitter of the season in a 9-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday.

Greene (1-4) matched a career high with 11 strikeouts in picking up his first win in 11 starts this season.

There have been 17 no-hitters by Cincinnati, the most recent coming on May 7, 2021, when Wade Miley tossed one against the Cleveland Guardians.

Greene had the Reds in position to add to that list. But the Cubs got their only two hits in the eighth against Eduardo Salazar.

The hard-throwing Greene walked two while throwing 110 pitches. And other than a fly ball to the warning track by Nico Hoerner in the sixth, there weren’t many hard hit balls against the right-hander.

Salazar retired all three batters in the seventh before Christopher Morel lined a single to center leading off the eighth. Miles Mastrobuoni singled with one out.

Matt McLain, Spencer Steer, Tyler Stephenson and Stuart Fairchild each had three of Cincinnati’s season-high 19 hits.

Stephenson capped a two-run first with an RBI single, doubled and scored in the third, and chased Cubs starter Justin Steele (6-2) in the fourth with a run-scoring single that made it 6-0.

The Cubs have been outscored 19-1 the past two games after getting pounded 10-1 by the New York Mets on Thursday. And Steele simply took a beating in his shortest start of the year.

Fourth in the National League in ERA coming in, he got tagged for a season-worst six runs — five earned. The right-hander matched a career high by giving up 10 hits.

There were a record nine no-hitters in 2021 and four last year.

The Reds grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first when Steer followed McLain’s one-out single with a triple to right-center and scored on Tyler Stephenson’s single.

Cincinnati got another run in the third when Stephenson doubled with two out and scored on Nick Senzel’s single up the middle.

Kevin Newman doubled off the left-field ivy leading off a three-run fourth and scored on Jose Barrero’s single. Jonathan India added a sacrifice fly and Stephenson chased Steele with a two-out, RBI bloop single, making it 6-0.