CINCINNATI -- Luis Castillo could not bring an end to his winless streak on Tuesday night against the Giants. But the Reds’ starting pitcher took solace that his performance resembled many of his past great outings.

Castillo struck out 11 batters over five frames, but an Alex Dickerson three-run home run in the fourth inning did him in, and the Reds took a 4-2 loss to San Francisco at Great American Ball Park. He fell to 1-6 with a 7.44 ERA in nine starts this season, including a seven-start winless streak and five straight losing decisions.

"Even though we didn’t get the victory, I’d say we didn’t just take one step forward, we took three steps forward," Castillo said via translator Jorge Merlos. "Really, it felt better, and the results were there."

There were several reasons why Castillo's start was a vast improvement from his recent trend.

Swings and misses
Out of the 43 swings by the Giants against him, Castillo got 21 whiffs (49 percent), according to Statcast. Two starts ago against Cleveland on May 8, the right-hander garnered only three whiffs on 84 total pitches.

"That’s not always the key, but we’ve seen when he is getting that kind of swing and miss, you know the stuff is there," Reds manager David Bell said.

Changeup was working
The Giants swung at 14 Castillo changeups, with eight whiffs. The whiff rate for the pitch coming in was 26.1 percent, down from 40.1 percent last year. He recorded six of his strikeouts with the changeup.

"I think the biggest difference today was my changeup," said Castillo, who gave up six hits and three walks. "Obviously, it’s my second-best pitch. The previous starts, you could see that the changeup was staying over the plate, but this time, it was just getting away from the zone and below the zone. You could really see it, my changeup was working spectacularly today."

Slider was effective
Averaging 86 mph, Castillo's slider got 14 swings and notched nine misses. It was responsible for four strikeouts.

Velocity was up
Castillo's four-seam fastball and sinker were both down about 1 mph from last year, with both averaging about 96 mph entering Tuesday. Statcast showed the four-seamer averaging 97.7 mph with the maximum at 99.2 mph during the game. His sinker -- which Castillo considers his best pitch -- averaged 97.5 and topped at 99.1 mph. He had it running in on right-handed hitters, especially.

"We were on the same page all night," catcher Tucker Barnhart said. "It’s just one of those things that when he’s able to get the fastball in to guys, it’s 100, so it speeds you up. He was able to do that to righties and lefties tonight. It makes everything else better. I think that’s no secret."

Diversification
Castillo threw 91 pitches, but it was nearly even dispersal of repertoire between the four-seam fastball (24), sinker (18), changeup (26) and slider (23).

"When you feel great with all four pitches, you can throw them at any count that you want, and you can attack any hitter however you want, too," Castillo said. "I’m glad that they were all working today, and we had confidence throughout the game."

Don't forget the tattoo!
Following Wade Miley's lead, Castillo wore an Avengers-related temporary tattoo on his non-throwing forearm. Miley had an Incredible Hulk image during his May 7 no-hitter. Castillo sported a Hawkeye tattoo.

"Someone brought it in. We have a whole bunch of them, and then I said, ‘Well, I guess I should put one on if Wade Miley threw a no-hitter.’ So I’m glad that the tattoo really paid off," Castillo said.

Castillo racked up more strikeouts on Tuesday than his past three starts combined (10). His strikeout rate coming in was a career-low 16.3 percent, which was near the bottom of the Major Leagues for qualifying pitchers and down from a career-high 30.5 percent in 2020.

"I think the work that I’ve done this week, whether it’s in the bullpen or working on other things while I’m out on the field, I felt like it really paid off, and you could see with all of my repertoire that I was throwing out there," Castillo said. "When you see that come together, it’s a relief for you."

During the first inning, usually his most problematic frame, Castillo struck out the side. He had eight strikeouts through three innings.

"Watching his body language, watching his reaction, seeing how he was in the dugout -- you could tell that he felt that," Bell said. "He felt like something clicked. … I think we were relieved for him to finally feel that on the mound."

The top of the fourth inning opened with back-to-back singles off Castillo. Then, on a 1-1 changeup, Dickerson launched it over the right-field fence.

"Probably the one pitch all night, honestly, that wasn't executed and he hit it," Barnhart said. "But I'll live and die with his changeup any day of the week. … He pitched so much better than the line showed, even with the 11 strikeouts."