Luis Castillo spun around after throwing a 98-mph fastball and his jaw dropped in disbelief when it was called ball four with two outs in the ninth inning.
Castillo was hunting the first complete game of his career and he thought he sealed it with a punchout. He was surprised the call went against him, which brought the tying run to the plate, but he wasn't going to let anything stop him from throwing a complete game.
Two pitches later, Castillo jammed Brad Miller with a changeup. Castillo fielded a slow chopper on a knee, bobbled the ball, then fired a strike to first base as he fell to the ground for the final out in a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. When Castillo stood up, he smiled and pumped his right fist.
The Cincinnati Reds need to play close to perfect to keep their playoff hopes alive and Castillo did just that. He allowed two hits and one run in 112 pitches, striking out six. It was the first time a Reds pitcher threw a nine-inning complete game since Scott Feldman on May 7, 2017.
“You know, sometimes a pitcher has a way of owning the energy of the game,” said Joey Votto, who hit a two-run homer in the first inning. “He had that tonight, for sure. It was his game.”
Castillo, who hadn’t pitched more than six innings this season, couldn’t stop smiling afterward. He gave a hug to catcher Curt Casali as he gripped the ball from the final out in his right hand. He put the ball in his glove, saving it as a memento.
“I don’t know what was more fun to watch: the way he pitched in the complete game or just seeing the smile at the end of the game,” manager David Bell said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”
A turning point for Castillo was the second inning. He walked Brad Miller on four pitches and Paul DeJong ripped a double down the left-field line. Holding onto a two-run lead, there were two runners in scoring position with no outs.
Castillo survived it and walked away with more confidence. He induced two groundouts against Yadier Molina and Matt Carpenter, and Tyler O’Neill struck out on a changeup.
“Other times it might have gone a different way,” Castillo said through translator Jorge Merlos. “Today, I just told myself I have the confidence to get myself out of this inning. I had the confidence to battle and attack them.”
Castillo gave up a one-out single to leadoff hitter Kolten Wong in the third inning, then retired 18 of the next 19 batters he faced. The one batter who reached – Carpenter drew a walk – was erased on a double play.
He was efficient with his pitch count, throwing 67 pitches through five innings, 80 through six, 88 through seven and 96 through eight. The last time he pitched into the ninth inning was his final start of the 2018 season when he tossed 8 1/3 scoreless innings in Miami.
“You could almost just relax and enjoy the moment, enjoy watching him pitch,” said Bell, who called it an easy decision to have Castillo pitch in the ninth inning.
Castillo didn’t give up much hard contact. He jammed hitters by mixing his 99-mph fastball with his devastating changeup, and he probably had his best slider of the season.
“I was telling myself once I saw myself throw my slider, ‘wow, I really have a good slider going on today,’” Castillo said. “We were going to throw that more and more."
Said Cardinals manager Mike Shildt: “That was as good of stuff as we’ve seen.”
Votto was told he couldn’t take his base in the first inning, so he decided to touch ‘em all.
Batting third for the first time since Aug. 14, Votto thought he drew a walk on a pitch above the strike zone. Home-plate umpire Laz Diaz saw it differently and signaled strike as Votto prepared to toss his bat toward his dugout.
Adam Wainwright’s next pitch was a cutter that caught the inside part of the plate. Votto hammered it into the right-field seats, admired his work for a moment, dropped his bat and began his home run trot. No need to walk when he can jog around the bases.
The ball left Votto’s bat at 113.2 mph and traveled 442 feet. It was Votto’s hardest-hit ball since 2015 when Statcast began tracking data.
“It was a good feeling, for sure,” Votto said. “I’m feeling like heading in the right direction, in some ways, personally. All we needed was those two runs. (Castillo) was just so good tonight.”
Castillo dedicated his first complete game to his family. It was a proud achievement for a pitcher who has the pure stuff to be a star in the league.
When he walked into the room for his postgame interview, he was almost in disbelief of his accomplishment. He said, "unbelievable" and "wow," as he sat into a chair.
"It was very wonderful," Castillo said in Spanish. "To complete nine innings, that is super, super, super exciting for me."
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September 12, 2020 at 11:30AM
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Luis Castillo pitches complete game, Joey Votto homers in Cincinnati Reds' win at St. Louis - The Cincinnati Enquirer
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