Castillo stays grounded after latest loss

The Reds had just clawed their way back into Saturday’s game for Luis Castillo and tied it up for him in the top of the sixth inning against the Cubs. In the very next half-inning, Castillo and Amir Garrett squandered the good fortune.

Together, Castillo and Garrett walked four batters in the bottom of the sixth inning. All four batters scored to sink Cincinnati in a 10-2 loss at Wrigley Field. The Reds have dropped the first two games of the three-game series.

• Box score

“Everything happens in baseball,” Castillo said via translator Jorge Merlos. “Those are the small little things that happened today. But I’m not frustrated. I can’t be. It’s just another bad day. I know everything will change here soon.”

Castillo allowed four runs (two earned) and four hits over five-plus innings with four walks and three strikeouts. His struggles have led him to a once unimaginable 1-8 record and 7.22 ERA in 11 starts.

The Cubs had a 2-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning when back-to-back walks issued by starter Zach Davies and reliever Rex Brothers gave Cincinnati an opportunity. Following Brothers’ two-out walk to Scott Heineman, Tyler Stephenson notched a game-tying two-run double to right field. It snapped a 16-inning scoreless streak for the Reds and ended the Cubs bullpen’s streak of 38 innings without allowing an earned run.

Back out for the bottom of the sixth inning, Castillo walked the first two batters -- Ian Happ and Willson Contreras -- both on five pitches.

“The half-inning beforehand, we had a couple of runs there and it took a while to get through it,” Castillo said. “It was a little bit chilly up here. Maybe I got a little bit colder during that half-inning while we were waiting for it to end. I might not have been as sharp there.”

The left-handed Garrett was summoned from the bullpen to face lefty-hitting Rafael Ortega and caught a break. As Ortega attempted to bunt, he was hit on the left forearm by Garrett’s pitch. But instead of giving him first base, umpire Dan Bellino called it a foul ball for strike two. Ortega wound up bunting again, foul for strike three.

Garrett couldn’t capitalize. After having Patrick Wisdom in an 0-2 count, Garrett missed with four straight sliders and walked him to load the bases.

Eric Sogard was next with a walk that forced home the go-ahead run.

“He was trying to make a pitch,” Reds manager David Bell said of Garrett. “Patrick Wisdom, all these guys are good hitters. You can’t just lay it in there. You have to try to make a pitch. No question, the priority is ultimately you do have to throw strikes, but you have to do it in a way that you can get outs. Oftentimes, you need swing and miss in certain situations to make that happen. Maybe just overthrew some pitches, but he was definitely trying to do his job right there. He wasn’t able to get it done today.”

• Gutierrez earns another start

Tejay Antone replaced Garrett and picked up a strikeout but allowed Joc Pederson’s two-run single to right field, followed by Kris Bryant’s RBI single to make it a 6-2 game. Coming in, Antone had allowed only two hits over his previous 10 2/3 scoreless innings.

Bell used Garrett ahead of Antone because of the lefty hitters in that portion of the Cubs’ lineup. Normally, Antone doesn’t pitch when there is a deficit.

“As we found out, that inning was the game,” Bell said. “At the time we got Tejay up, it was still a tie game. If he was able to get Joc Pederson out there, it’s still a totally different game. We’re down one, but it could be a completely different situation. We just felt like it was the best use of Tejay right there.”

Although Castillo lost his way in the sixth inning, his first five were mostly solid. He recorded only six swings and misses, but he threw strikes. The contact he induced from the Cubs was weak. Statcast data showed Chicago’s exit velocity against him was an average of 78.8 mph.

“Really, what I take out of this start was I had good focus out there. I was able to get outs,” Castillo said.

In the second inning, Castillo was burned by poor defense. A throwing error by shortstop Eugenio Suárez on David Bote’s fielder’s choice grounder led to a pair on unearned runs. Castillo leads the Majors with eight unearned runs allowed. Unfortunately, the right-hander also has the worst ERA among qualified pitchers in the Major Leagues.

“I think up until the last inning where he walked a couple of guys, he was really good,” Bell said. “You can’t do much more, much better. I think it just confirms Luis is working on the right things. We’ve seen there is another level for him, but I do think today was one step towards getting to that level. I think he should feel really good; I know he does. It was a big step today.”