ESPN broadcast reveals how Dodgers' experience punished Hunter Greene in Game 1

For much of the 2025 season – when he was healthy, at least – Hunter Greene looked like one of the best pitchers in baseball. But in the first postseason appearance of his MLB career on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he looked like anything but.

The Cincinnati Reds' ace (though, can he really be called that anymore?) got lit up for five earned runs in just three innings in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card series. No other team scored more than three runs during the opening games of the Wild Card series across the league – which is to be expected when going up against the opposing team's ace.

Shohei Ohtani led off with a solo homer, and Greene's disastrous outing snowballed from there. By the bottom of the third inning, he had given up three singles, walked back-to-back batters and allowed those runners to advance on a wild pitch. Teoscar Hernández delivered a monster three-run homer, followed by a solo shot from Tommy Edman that ended Greene's night.

MLB analyst suggests Reds' Hunter Greene was tipping his pitches to Dodgers in Game 1

On Wednesday's edition of ESPN's "Baseball Tonight," MLB insider Buster Olney offered a reason as to why the Dodgers were able to tee off on Greene so early and often in Game 1. The theory, suggested to him by former MLB player and current MLB analyst Eduardo Pérez, is that Greene may have been tipping his pitches with his glove.

"He ran through some of the swings," Olney said. "In Eduardo's mind, they absolutely knew every time he was going to throw a breaking ball."

Some common ways that pitchers tip pitches with their glove include holding it slightly higher for a fastball (vs. lower for a breaking ball) and opening the glove wider when gripping an off-speed pitch. Though Greene's subtle physical "tells" may have been unintentional, the Dodgers were able to pick up on them and anticipate the pitch he was going to throw, giving them a massive advantage at the plate.

This wasn't merely an "off night" for Greene and the Cincinnati pitching staff, either. The possible pitch tipping is just one of the ways that the Reds' playoff inexperience effectively ended their postseason run as quickly as it began. Against an experienced postseason team like the Dodgers, the Reds didn't realistically stand a chance. The defending champs knew what was coming at every turn, and they took advantage of it.

Thanks for playing, Cincinnati. Better luck next time.

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