The Reds' fireballer Hunter Greene returns to his hometown Los Angeles to face the Dodgers, aiming to shut down Shohei Ohtani.

The Cincinnati Reds have successfully reached the MLB playoffs and will face the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-three Wild Card series. The Reds will start their "fireballer" Hunter Greene, who expressed strong confidence before the game, declaring his intention to contain Shohei Ohtani.

The Reds will play the Dodgers tomorrow morning, with Greene starting the opener; the Dodgers will counter with two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell. This marks the Reds’ first postseason appearance in five years and Greene’s first playoff start, made even more special by the game being held in his hometown of Los Angeles, which holds great significance for him.

Greene said, “I’m really happy to pitch back home. As a kid, I often watched Dodgers games and witnessed the World Series and other playoff series. Starting here is very special, but I also have a job to do, and I’ll give it my all.”

At 26 years old, Greene has pitched five games against the Dodgers in his career, recording a 1-3 record with a 4.55 ERA. This year, he faced the Dodgers once, pitching five innings while allowing six hits and three runs, resulting in a loss. However, in seven at-bats against Shohei Ohtani, Greene has only allowed one hit and no home runs, showing good control over him. When asked how he plans to handle Ohtani in Game 1, Greene said he will confront him with his fastball: “I’ll stick to my strengths. I know what I’m capable of, and I’m confident in myself. He’s a very talented player, but I’m a major league pitcher. Like I said before, it’s about pitching one pitch at a time and executing every at-bat.”

Regarding how to limit Ohtani’s impact, Reds manager Terry Francona humorously replied, “I won’t tell you because you’ll just tell him.” His witty answer caused the media present to burst into laughter.