Twins almost get rookie Barnes off hook

CINCINNATI -- Charlie Barnes learned a valuable lesson Wednesday in his second Major League start.

The rookie lefty making his second big league start could not get the all-important third out of the third inning, and the Reds scored four times with two outs and held on for a 6-5 win and split of the brief two-game Interleague series at Great American Ball Park.

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Luis Castillo (6-10) worked out of a jam in his sixth and final inning of work to earn his third straight win before a crowd of 16,828 in the business-day special. Michael Lorenzen stabilized a shaky Cincinnati bullpen and recorded the final five outs for his first save.

Barnes (0-2) ran into two-out trouble in the third inning when the Reds started to time his pitches. Shogo Akiyama got it started with a single to left-center. Following a bunt by Castillo to move Akiyama to second, Barnes fanned Jonathan India. But Jesse Winker walked and Kyle Farmer lined a single to left-center to score Akiyama and tie the game, 1-1.

The third out would be elusive. Joey Votto doubled to left-center to score two more and Tyler Stephenson singled to left to plate Votto and it was suddenly 4-1 Reds. That inning led to a conversation in the dugout with Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson.

“I think they did a good job,” Barnes said. “I just have to execute a little better, and that's something that Wes and I discussed after, [that] I've got to find a way to get us off the field right there. Whether it's after the single or especially, the Votto double. He did a good job going the other way with it. That's something I got to do a better job of ... Getting us off the field and [limiting] damage."

"I think their hitters did kind of bear down a little bit in some of these at-bats, battled a little bit,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Once they kind of know you, they might have sat a little soft, but the two-out part of the deal, we’ve got to find a way to finish innings."

Castillo again helped his own cause with a sacrifice bunt in the fourth when he again moved along Akiyama to second. This time, India drove Akiyama home when Brent Rooker just missed the sinking liner to left and it was 5-1 Cincinnati.

“I think all our offense came on two outs,” Reds manager David Bell said. “Five hits. Those are big. We had the homer, but other than that, it’s really grinding out at-bats when you have runners in scoring position, and getting big hits with two outs. Those are pretty sweet for a hitter, and we had quite a few of them today. That was the difference.”

Barnes was pulled after four innings, allowing seven hits and five earned runs, walking two and striking out a pair.

“I show a lot of faith in all of our guys,” Baldelli said when asked if Barnes will stay in the rotation going forward. “I can't tell you exactly what our roster is going to look like two days from now or two weeks from now. But he's a guy that I told you is definitely going to throw Major League innings for us as the year continues."

The difference in the game came when Tyler Stephenson crushed a Beau Burrows pitch to the batter’s eye in center in the bottom of the seventh for a 6-1 Reds’ lead.

As was the case Tuesday night, the Twins kept coming at the Reds' weary bullpen. Brad Brach walked Polanco and Luis Arraez to open the eighth before Miguel Sanó doubled to right to cut the Cincinnati lead to 6-2. Trevor Larnach’s double down the right-field line scored Arraez and Sanó, and it was suddenly 6-4 with none out in the eighth.

Ryan Jeffers singled home Larnach with one out to make it 6-5. Lorenzen entered for the Reds and struck out pinch-hitter Josh Donaldson looking for the second out. After Max Kepler doubled down the right-field line to put runners at second and third, Rooker struck out swinging to end the rally one run short.

“They were good baseball games,” Baldelli said of the split in the series and the season series (2-2). “Our guys showed some resiliency out there and have continued to just go make things happen.

“We had a chance to get ourselves back in the game. We had a chance to win the game and we can look to a lot of different guys today who played well, made some plays, got some big hits. It was not enough to get it done, but I'll tell you this: The resiliency and the toughness from our guys is showing up.”