Castillo rediscovers elite form vs. Brewers

It took until the very last pitch of the game to decide Tuesday’s matchup between the Reds and the Brewers, but Cincinnati managed to stave off a two-out Milwaukee rally to pick up the 2-1 win in 10 innings at American Family Field.

The Reds are now on a five-game winning streak, have won 12 of their last 15 and sit just three games out of first place in the National League Central. And despite getting just two hits in 10 innings against the Brewers on Tuesday, Cincinnati now heads into Wednesday’s series finale with a chance to sweep Milwaukee.

“I’m glad that the team is doing well so far. We have to continue on with that success,” Reds starter Luis Castillo said through team translator Jorge Merlos. “Our team continues to battle every time, so we’re going to have to continue doing this for the rest of the season.”

Here are the three keys to Cincinnati’s win:

Castillo dominates the Crew

Castillo had left his previous two outings in the lead, but that didn’t make up for the struggles he experienced to begin the season.

Coming into Tuesday, Castillo held the worst ERA in the Majors (6.74) among qualified starters and was in danger of becoming the first pitcher to reach 10 losses on the year. He had yet to regain the form that made him an All-Star in 2019, but Castillo could hardly have pitched better in the win over the Brewers.

Through seven innings of work, Castillo allowed just three hits and three walks apiece, while striking out seven Milwaukee batters. He also recorded 18 whiffs on 44 swings, and he posted a 56.3 percent whiff rate with his four-seamer alone.

Facing a Brewers team that had only two hitters with a batting average above .250 against Castillo coming into the game -- one of them, Kolten Wong, is on the injured list -- the Reds’ righty was as commanding as he’s been all season.

“There was a different feel for him before the game started, just a different level of focus,” Reds manager David Bell said. “There wasn't any sort of searching or wondering on his part. It was very focused and confident.”

Coming through in the clutch

Unfortunately for Castillo, Brewers starter Brett Anderson was just as dominant on the mound.

The Reds recorded just one hit and one walk against the southpaw, striking out nine times and whiffing on 11 of 33 swings as the game remained tied 0-0 through seven innings. They only managed one more hit against Milwaukee relievers Devin Williams and Josh Hader in the eighth and ninth, respectively. When the game got to the 10th, though, it became a familiar environment for Cincinnati.

Brewers reliever Brad Boxberger hit Tyler Stephenson and walked Joey Votto to start things off, before he plunked Eugenio Suárez to bring in the game’s first run. After Jesse Winker struck out, Kyle Farmer produced a sacrifice fly to right to bring in Stephenson, giving Cincinnati a two-run lead it never relinquished.

The Reds have played in 10 extra-inning games in 2021, winning eight and scoring the automatic runner from second on 11 of 12 chances. Those eight wins are the highest total in the Majors. Tuesday’s victory marked just the 18th time since 1901 that a team came out on top in extras while collecting two hits or less over the course of the contest.

Bullpen comes through

Despite having the worst ERA in the Majors (5.66) entering the day, Reds relievers have been on something of a hot streak lately.

Over the last four games coming into Tuesday, Cincinnati’s ‘pen had allowed just four hits and two earned runs in 12 1/3 combined innings. It’s a small sample size, and three of the games were against the struggling Rockies, but it’s still been a confidence boost since the outings have come without Tejay Antone (right forearm inflammation).

That string of performances continued Tuesday.

After Castillo came out of the game, Brad Brach and Lucas Sims held down the fort in the eighth and ninth, respectively. In the 10th, Heath Hembree lasted until he was removed after a bloop RBI single and a walk. That’s when Amir Garrett came in to face Tim Lopes with the game on the line.

Right-handed hitters entered with a .316 batting average against Garrett this season, but it took only four pitches for Garrett to get Lopes swinging at a slider en route to picking up his third save of the year.

“We practice every day, we work hard, we go out there and give it 110 percent, so for us to have this stretch that we're on right now is pretty satisfying,” Garrett said.