Glasnow, Castillo named Pitchers of the Month

The Rays’ Tyler Glasnow and the Reds’ Luis Castillo were honored by Major League Baseball on Thursday as the respective American and National League Pitchers of the Month for March and April.

Glasnow, 25, is an MLB-best 5-0 with a 1.75 ERA through six starts. He’s allowed just seven runs in 36 innings and struck out 38 against seven walks. In his last start, on Sunday, Glasnow outdueled Boston ace Chris Sale to become the second pitcher in Rays franchise history to record five wins by the end of April, joining Matt Moore (2013). His ERA is the third lowest by a Rays pitcher for the month of April, trailing Chris Archer (0.84 in 2015) and Moore (1.13 in ’13).

“This year he’s just taken off,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “He’s pretty special when he’s out on the mound. He makes really good hitters have difficult at-bats against him.”

Castillo has also gotten off to a fantastic start in his third big league season. He’s 3-1 with a 1.45 ERA in seven starts. He’s allowed seven runs through 43 1/3 innings and struck out 50 against 17 walks. In his April finale, Castillo hurled 6 2/3 solid innings and struck out seven batters with at least 20 family members cheering him on from box seats near third base.

Castillo's performance in March and April is a far cry from how he started the 2018 season, with a 7.85 ERA in his first six starts, as the 26-year-old righty is beginning to look like an ace again.