CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Reds right-hander Hunter Greene had thrown 93 pitches and given up just one hit through eight innings Thursday night. He wanted the ball in the ninth and manager Terry Francona wasn't going to deny him this time.
Greene got the final three outs for his first career nine-inning shutout as the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 1-0 to keep pace with the New York Mets for the third NL wild-card spot.
On April 7 at San Francisco, Greene retired the first two batters in the ninth with the Reds leading 2-0. After he allowed a single and a walk, Francona brought on Tony Santillan to get the final out. Greene finished with 104 pitches.
"San Francisco flashed kind of through my mind," Greene said. "I was telling myself, 'This is my game'. I told [manager Terry Francona] that next game that I pitched deep into that situation, I wanted to finish it."
Francona didn't budge from his dugout chair on Thursday night.
"I didn't want to try," the Reds skipper said. "We didn't even have anyone throwing in the bullpen."
Greene's 107th pitch of the night registered 101.5 mph for strike two to Ian Happ, who fanned on five pitches for the final out. Greene had nine strikeouts and one walk. He threw 109 pitches.
Greene retired the first 12 batters until Moises Ballesteros reached on a fielding error to begin the fifth. He didn't allow a hit until Seiya Suzuki's two-out double in the seventh.
"The thing that sticks out is that it was 1-0," Francona said. "There was no wiggle room. Coming off the other day in Sacramento, to back that up the way he did was really impressive."
In Greene's last outing on Saturday against the A's, he allowed five runs and two home runs and pitched a season-low 2⅓ innings. With the Reds trying to remain in the playoff chase, Greene responded.
"The last game doesn't define me," he said. "There are a lot of ups and downs in this sport. I've been able to overcome a lot of those over the years."
Cubs starter Colin Rea matched Greene early but allowed a leadoff double by Austin Hays in the fourth. Hays scored on Will Benson's double to drive in the game's only run. Rea had a career-high 11 strikeouts, but it was Greene's night.
"We were kind of going back and forth and we were having quick innings," Rea said. "He's elite. We know how good he is. He threw his hardest pitch in the ninth inning. That's special."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.