Weaver has best Reds start when it's needed most

MIAMI -- If there was one thing the Reds needed on Sunday at loanDepot park, it was a solid start from Luke Weaver.

The righty entered the series finale vs. the Marlins trending up, getting the ball for a team that had used seven relievers the previous day and that saw one of its key starters, Nick Lodolo, hit the 15-day injured list with left calf tendinosis pregame.

Weaver needed to bring his A-game.

And bring it he did. He was a little rough early on, allowing back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the first inning. But then he settled in. His stuff was working as he made it a classic pitchers’ duel with Miami starter Braxton Garrett.

“That was as good as I've seen Luke in a long, long time,” manager David Bell said, “and I saw him a lot when he was younger. [It] may be the best start I've ever seen. His stuff is really good right now, and it was just an outstanding start. [One] we needed, too. We needed him to go deep into the game. He had to throw some extra pitches and just, [he was] still able to get us where we needed to.”

Weaver allowed one run on seven hits, one walk and an error from shortstop Kevin Newman -- Cincinnati’s defense was a little rusty over Weaver’s 5 1/3 innings. And though the Reds lost, 3-1, and didn’t get the sweep, they won the series and were able to give some of their most consistent relievers rest thanks to Weaver’s 106 pitches (the most he’s thrown in a start this season).

The series finale was yet another example of the gritty style the Reds have employed this season. Weaver wasn’t getting the whiffs that he might normally, mostly because the Marlins are a contact-oriented team. Entering Sunday, he had a 27.6% whiff rate on the season. Against the Marlins, he got just 10 whiffs on 55 swings (18%).

So Weaver and catcher Luke Maile adjusted, and it worked out quite well.

“He expanded really well,” Maile said. “Like, when there [were] opportunities to expand [the zone], he did. And when he had to get guys out in the zone, he was very aware of that -- we were on the same page with that. Overall, I just feel like he's gotten better every single time, and I know that if he's able to locate the ball the way he has been, the whiffs will come.”

Equally as important was how deep Weaver went. By pitching into the sixth, Weaver enabled the Reds to use just three relievers: Kevin Herget, Alan Busenitz and Silvino Bracho -- all of whom were called up from Triple-A Louisville earlier Sunday.

“Guys stepped in and came from our Triple-A team [with] tough travel and everything, and they gave us everything they had,” Bell said. “It was good. We would have been able to get through the game today, but it also gave our relievers [who] have been here all year and have been really pitching a lot and pitching well a much-needed day off. Not as good as getting a win, but there's some benefits.”

Weaver went as deep as he did in spite of a 36-pitch fourth inning that included a 12-pitch at-bat resulting in a double from Bryan De La Cruz, who fouled off six pitches in a row before hitting the ball in fair territory.

De La Cruz hit another double in the sixth, leaving the bat at a Statcast-projected 93.9 mph, which was one of just two Miami hits with exit velos above 87 mph. Only two of Weaver’s pitches which the Marlins connected on had exit velocities above 100 mph: a groundout (107 mph) and a single (109 mph). Being able to get weak contact was one of the keys for Weaver to avoid damage.

“I was very happy with a lot of things, just kind of coming together equally with all pitches,” Weaver said. “Still attacking, getting some early strikes, getting ahead in some counts. I know early on there was some three-ball counts, which, unacceptable, but I made some big pitches 3-2. Besides that, I think we just had a great mix going. We got the weak contact basically all day, not a whole lot to show from some of those, but that's baseball at its finest right there.”