Castillo solid in win: 'He was the right guy'

CINCINNATI -- On the heels of an ugly brawl that involved both managers, David Bell of the Reds and Pittsburgh’s Clint Hurdle stood icily across from each other and neither shook hands on Wednesday. Fortunately for both clubs, tensions did not escalate.

Even more fortunate for the Reds, they got a sterling performance from ace Luis Castillo and three hits from Jesse Winker during a 4-1 win at Great American Ball Park that gave them two of three games in the series. It was the first time this season that Cincinnati has won three consecutive series.

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“He was the right guy,” Bell said. “He was able to keep it quiet and shut them down. It was great timing to have that kind of game.”

In the bottom of the first inning, Winker attacked pitcher Dario Agrazal’s first pitch of the day and hit it to left field for his 15th home run of the season. In the third inning, Eugenio Suárez capped off his sizzling July with a two-run homer on an 0-2 Agrazal pitch that made it a 3-0 game. Suarez finished the month with 12 of his 29 home runs, including nine since the All-Star break.

Coming off a poor start Friday against the Rockies, when he surrendered a season-high six earned runs over five innings, Castillo was sharp against Pittsburgh and took a shutout into the eighth inning.

Over his seven-plus innings, Castillo gave up one earned run and six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.

"We have to win that game,” Castillo said via interpreter Julio Morillo. “This is a really important game for the team. I made the adjustments in the bullpen. That's why I had a really good game today.”

Following the brawl that resulted in eight ejections on Tuesday, Castillo wanted to remain focused and keep the drama to a minimum. He is 10-4 with 2.63 ERA in 22 starts.

"When those situations happen, you try to come back and do your job as well you can do it. To control the game, control yourself,” Castillo said. “I came over and did my job.”