DENVER – Luis Castillo saw another run score on a bloop single to center field in the fourth inning Thursday and he just shook his head.
It was one of those nights where nothing went his way.
Castillo's nightmare season continued. He allowed a career-high 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings and gave up eight earned runs, which matched another career-high. The Colorado Rockies batted around against him in the fourth inning.
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If that wasn’t bad enough, Nick Senzel and Mike Moustakas exited with injuries in the Cincinnati Reds’ 13-8 loss at Coors Field. The Reds scored all eight of their runs in the eighth inning, nearly mounting a stunning comeback.
"We're all going to continue to work and try to help him as much as we possibly can to get him out of this funk because we really need him," catcher Tucker Barnhart said of Castillo. "He's our guy and we've all got his back and we're going to do everything we can to help him out."
Castillo, the Reds’ Opening Day starter, is sporting an ugly 7.71 ERA through eight starts. He’s surrendered 32 earned runs this season, the most in the Majors. He’s tied with Philadelphia’s Zach Eflin for most hits allowed (55).
He’s known for his fearsome changeup, which is usually hard to distinguish from his 98-mph fastball, but he’s not taking advantage of pitchers’ counts. Seven of the Rockies’ 10 hits came with two strikes. Seven of the eight runs scored with two outs.
"It’s just a matter of putting the different adjustments together and getting comfortable with it," Reds manager David Bell said. "He’s too talented. He’s working hard. He’s frustrated, of course, and that’s OK. He’s got a great balance of keeping it in perspective, but he’s also doing everything he can to get out of it. It’s just a matter of time. He’s too good."
Barnhart and Bell insist that Castillo is "close" to pitching at the level they've seen over the last few years. The velocity is there. Barnhart pointed to some key hits came from weak contact.
The first hit of the Rockies' five-run fourth inning was a single that rolled on the chalk of the third-base line. Castillo jammed the next batter, Alan Trejo, with an inside fastball that was pulled down the left-field line for a double.
"I think that he's really close," Barnhart said. "I know we all keep saying that. But he's really close. He's throwing sinkers at 97 tonight, which is a major plus. It's a major plus for him, it's a major plus for us as a ball club. He continues to work and we're all trying as hard as we possibly can to get him out of this. It's going to come soon. I think tonight's definitely a step in the right direction."
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The Reds have a 1-7 record in Castillo’s starts this season.
It doesn't help that he struggles so much in the first inning. Castillo has permitted 15 earned runs in the first inning of his eight starts (16.88 ERA), including three more Thursday.
Rockies leadoff hitter Raimel Tapia opened with a single to left field, swinging late on a 98-mph fastball. Connor Joe, a former Reds Rule 5 pick, followed with an RBI double to center field. Senzel injured his heel on the play, running into the wall after an attempted catch.
Two batters after Joe’s double, Josh Fuentes ended a seven-pitch at-bat with a two-run homer to left field. Castillo hung a flat changeup over the heart of the plate and he immediately knew his mistake when Fuentes made contact, dropping his shoulders.
"It just seems like in situations where you're struggling or things aren't going your way, it continues to snowball," Barnhart said. "We've got to just keep punching out of it."
When Castillo returned to the dugout in the middle of the fourth inning, fellow starting pitcher Sonny Gray wrapped his arm around him and chatted with him for a couple of minutes on the dugout bench. Afterward, Bell walked over for a brief chat with Castillo.
Too many pitches left over the heart of the plate. Not the typical number of swings-and-misses on his changeup. The struggles in two-strike counts. Castillo has yielded at least four runs in more than half of his starts.
"We had a mound visit there, I think there was a leadoff walk and then we went out and I talked to him and got him to smile," Barnhart said. "Obviously, in times like that, it's hard to do it, it's hard to keep going, really. I just asked him, 'are you having fun?' We all play this game to have fun."
It was a blowout for seven innings. The Reds didn’t have a runner touch third base against Rockies starter Chi Chi González, who hadn’t pitched seven innings in a start since his rookie year in 2015.
Then again, is there a such thing as a safe lead in Coors Field?
The Reds ended the shutout when they exploded for eight hits and eight runs in the eighth inning, both season-highs for an inning. Tyler Stephenson hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer against lefty reliever Lucas Gilbreath to set the tone for the comeback.
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Shogo Akiyama recorded his first hit of the season with a line drive to left field. Alex Blandino, Tucker Barnhart and Kyle Farmer hit RBI singles to right field against former Reds reliever Robert Stephenson. Then Jonathan India capped the rally with a three-run homer over the right-field wall against Mychal Givens, the Rockies’ third pitcher of the inning.
The Rockies responded to the Reds’ rally with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. One run scored when India made an errant throw to the plate as the runner stopped at third base. After a sacrifice fly, Garrett Hampson hit a solo homer off Cionel Pérez.
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