Neidert draws positives from loss to Reds

Right-hander Nick Neidert had one bad inning on Thursday night and it proved costly as the Marlins lost to the Reds, 6-1, at Great American Ball Park.

Neidert was outstanding through the first three innings, retiring eight of the first nine hitters he faced. He was given a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning after Jesús Sánchez scored on a single by Jorge Alfaro.

But Neidert had a fourth inning he would like to forget, the right-hander saying after the game that he ran into trouble after failing to get ahead of the Reds' hitters. Cincinnati took advantage.

The Reds batted around, scoring four runs and all but taking command of the game. Joey Votto highlighted the scoring with a three-run homer, while Kyle Farmer also had an RBI double. Votto now has 17 home runs since July 1.

“[Neidert] was pretty good all night. It seemed like the one pitch to Joey, [Neidert] tried to go away and [Votto] pulled it across into the nitrozone,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “... Joey doesn’t leave the zone often. You don’t catch him chasing. He forces you into the strike zone. He uses the whole ballpark. He has always been a good hitter and a tough out.”

Neidert came out for the fifth inning and held the Reds scoreless in his final frame. Overall, Mattingly felt Neidert’s outing wasn’t bad.

“He just has to use his mix,” Mattingly said. “He's a guy that has to pitch backwards a little bit. He has to locate his fastball and use his breaking ball to slow you down. He has to be able to do all those things.”

Overall, Neidert felt he had a good outing, and left the start encouraged about his next one.

“I hope to carry those four really good innings into the next outing and continue to build,” Neidert said. “Even [learning from the fourth inning], minimize the damage. I would like to make a better pitch to Votto. All and all, throughout the game, I thought it was a good game. I just missed on a couple of pitches and they squared me up there. I’m just hoping to build on that.”

Other than the fourth inning, the Marlins couldn’t do much on offense against Reds right-hander Luis Castillo. He threw seven dominant innings, scattering eight hits and allowing just that Alfaro RBI single to go along with seven strikeouts.

"I felt spectacular today, commanding the zone and commanding all my pitches as well. Definitely felt good today," Castillo said through Reds interpreter Jorge Merlos.

Said Mattingly, “We would get a guy [on base] and we were kind of scratching with [Castillo], but couldn’t get more of a bigger blow. But he is a kid who has good stuff. He's anywhere from 95 to 100 [miles per hour]. He had a really good changeup, which forced the 100 even further. He uses his breaking ball, too. He's a tough guy to deal with.”