Gutierrez trusts his stuff, leads Reds to series win

CINCINNATI -- Reds starting pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez may have saved his finest outing for last.

The second-year big leaguer delivered five innings of one-run ball on his way to earning his first win of the season (1-6) and propelling the Reds to a 3-2 victory in front of an impressive weekend crowd of 26,655 in Cincinnati.

His outing wasn't perfect, but the right-hander showed poise and confidence in his “stuff” on the mound, a difficult ask for a young pitcher when faced with adversity.

“We've been working so hard this year to get some good results, and sure enough, everything that we've done in the bullpen this past week, locating pitches, using all my pitches that I know I have a lot of confidence in … they all came true today,” Gutierrez said following the game through his translator.

The Giants threatened early and often throughout his outing, but he didn't break.

After being greeted with a leadoff double by Giants designated hitter Tommy La Stella in the first inning, Gutierrez was able to leave him stranded, highlighted by back-to-back strikeouts of Darin Ruf and Joc Pederson.

Just an inning later, it was a walk and a pair of base hits that loaded the bases for San Francisco. Once again, Gutierrez stood tall on the mound, striking out La Stella and keeping the Giants off the board yet again.

Two doubles in the third ultimately gave San Francisco its first run of the game.

But Gutierrez buckled down to prevent further damage and lined himself up for the win with back-to-back scoreless frames to put a cap on his afternoon.

“I just couldn't lose focus right there with anything that was going on in the game,” Gutierrez said. “I wasn't going to let anything else from my previous starts affect what I was going to do today. So, I just told myself, ‘Let's go, Gutierrez. We got this.’”

Gutierrez threw 83 pitches, 51 for strikes, and leaned heavily on his mid-to high 90’s fastball for several of those key outs.

“I was able to give 100% of my ability to [give] this team a victory,” he added. “I wasn't thinking about the six losses that I've had so far this year. I just knew that I had to get the job done today.”

Saturday’s start marked the first time this season he has pitched through five innings, deeming himself eligible for victory. Prior to Saturday, his longest outing of the season had been 4 2/3 innings, which he did on multiple occasions.

Once he departed, Gutierrez was followed by relievers Luis Cessa, Alexis Díaz, Ross Detwiler and Tony Santillan, who combined to pitch the rest of the way. Overall, the Giants left 11 runners on base.

With fellow starting pitcher Mike Minor nearing a return from injury, Gutierrez’s future in the rotation is unclear. Regardless, the confidence gained from a solid start like Saturday’s can at times be enough to turn a pitcher’s season around.

“I thought that was a really big step for [Gutierrez] today,” Reds manager David Bell said.

The first two months of 2022 haven't been kind to the 26-year-old. Gutierrez entered Saturday’s game with an 8.70 ERA in his six starts, with opponents hitting .308 off of him.

“[Trusting your stuff] is actually the most important thing,” Bell said. “All the pitchers are here because they have the ability to do it, but the biggest challenge for any player at this level is to trust [their stuff] all the time. That is the key. It’s more difficult to do that sometimes than others. When [Gutierrez] can do that, he’s plenty good enough, and we saw that today.”

Shortstop Kyle Farmer drilled a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning off Giants starter and his best friend off the field, Alex Wood.

The hit supplied just enough offense for Gutierrez and company to operate throughout the night.

In fact, the longball was the decisive blow for the Reds. Despite getting outhit 12-5, it was all the offense the Reds needed to capture the series victory.