Antone dials up 'legit' 100 mph heat vs. Crew

CINCINNATI -- This time, Reds reliever Tejay Antone reached 100 mph … and change.

Summoned to snuff out a jam for Lucas Sims in the seventh inning for Cincinnati against the Brewers in Friday’s 9-4 win, Antone took over when the Reds were leading by a 6-3 margin with runners on second and third base with one out. He picked up a groundout from Christian Yelich (that plated a run) and struck out Omar Narváez.

After Narváez whiffed, Statcast registered the sinker for strike three from Antone at 100.2 mph. Reaching triple digits has been a goal of Antone’s since he had Tommy John surgery in 2017 while in the Minor Leagues. This season, he reached 99.5 mph vs. Arizona on April 9. Yelich also fouled off a pitch Friday clocked at 99.7 mph.

“I'm just glad the stadiums round up sometimes. To actually finally surpass it and hit that mark is a big accomplishment for me,” Antone said Saturday. “That was the first question I had for them when I came in, 'Was it legit?' It felt good out of the hand. When I faced Yelich, it was 99.7 and I was like, 'Dang, again with the fake 100.' I finally got it against Narváez. And it was a strikeout, which was really cool.”

Antone, who worked 1 2/3 innings vs. Milwaukee, had a fresh arm from four days off after his Sunday appearance at Colorado. But he wasn’t just out chucking heat. Both batters in the seventh inning were started with 80 mph curveballs -- his other strong pitch. Once he turned to his sinker, he didn’t try to reach back to far for the extra velocity.

“You have to sequence perfectly,” Antone said. “You have to know when to apply force, like what point in the delivery are you actually applying force? If you try to do it too early, everything's a little out of whack and velocity will actually come down a little bit because muscles are really strong, but they're also really elastic, so if you can use that elasticity and kind of flex at the right time, you're kind of getting that rubber band effect; plus when you actually contract, the muscles going a little faster. It's a little tough to explain, I guess.”

In the bottom of the seventh inning as the Reds rallied with two outs, manager David Bell called back Antone and put a pinch-hitter on deck as No. 8 hitter Jonathan India batted. Bell wanted to see what Milwaukee would do. Josh Lindblom pitched to India and gave up an RBI single and Antone batted for himself, which was the plan all along. He struck out.

“I think that was a deke, I'm too good of a hitter not to bat. I'm just kidding,” Antone said. “I actually apologized to David after, 'I'm really sorry, that was a really bad effort up there.'”

“I know he wants to be great at everything, but I thought that went a little too far,” Bell said. “I think he meant it though. I think he really believes in himself in all areas. I think he really meant it. It wouldn’t have surprised me if he got a hit. He’s a big, strong guy. He’s going to hit some home runs in his career.”

Goudeau’s transaction wheel stops in Cincinnati

Among the many roster moves made by the Reds on Friday, pitcher Ashton Goudeau found himself back in the big leagues. He pitched for the Rockies in four games last season -- his first Major League experience.

Goudeau has been a nomad of sorts since. When asked, he could remember all of the moves that he was a part of. He was claimed off waivers six different times.

“At the end of November, I went to the Pirates for eight days,” Goudeau said. "Then I was claimed by the Orioles, then went to the Giants towards the end of Spring Training. Then to the Dodgers, then back to the Rockies and then to the Reds.”

Goudeau was claimed by the Reds on May 2 and made two starts for Triple-A Louisville. He was relieved this time when Louisville manager Pat Kelly summoned him into his office.

“It was just crazy. It almost got to the point where my phone rang and I saw it was from the front office, it was like, ‘Here we go again,’” Goudeau said. “It was definitely weird and kind of sad that you got to the point where you expected it when someone called you. Thankfully, this time when the manager pulled me into the office, it was not the case. It was nice to finally get a little bit of a change.”