As Cincinnati Reds reliever Tejay Antone recovered from Tommy John surgery in 2017, he posted a photo of his arm on social media.
The caption: Road to 100.
At the time, Antone’s fastball was usually in the low-90s. Antone could only hit 95 mph occasionally. A few of his teammates reacted to the social media post and told Antone he’d never hit 100 mph.
Four years later, on Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers, Antone threw a 100.2 mph fastball to strike out Brewers catcher Omar Narvaez.
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“That's just fuel to the fire,” Antone said. “I love to prove people wrong. I'm just a competitor at heart, so when you tell me I can't do something, I'm going to get after it and try to do it.”
After Friday’s win, Antone was one of four relievers in MLB with an ERA of 1.93 or below and at least 31 strikeouts. But Antone has had a different role than the rest of those pitchers.
While the other three pitchers average 9.6 saves this season, Antone has only two saves. On Friday, he entered the game in the seventh and pitched two scoreless innings. He didn’t get the save, but he didn’t allow a hit and gave the Reds offense time to pull away.
Asked to describe his role on the team, Antone said he has become the “mid-game closer.”
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“I just want to be used where I'm effective, also where I'm having success,” Antone said. “I don't want to go to a starting role and then have no success or start having some failure and adversity. I'm having success right now. I'm effective out of the bullpen. I like where I'm at.”
Reds manager David Bell said he agreed with Antone’s role description. This season, Antone has only appeared in one game the Reds were trailing, and he has only entered a game in the ninth inning twice all season.
Bell has used Antone in the most high-leverage situations, regardless of the inning.
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“It turns out it’s in different innings sometimes, and in different situations,” Bell said. “But it’s always the most important spot of the game. You never know for sure. The idea is for him to be pitching when it matters the most out of the bullpen.”
Goudeau gets the call
When right-handed pitcher Ashton Goudeau was called into Louisville Bats manager Pat Kelly’s office, he didn’t have high hopes.
Since the end of the 2020 season, Goudeau has been designated for assignment seven times. He thought there was a chance that he would have to pack his bags again.
Instead, Kelly told Goudeau he was getting the call up to the Reds.
“It almost got to the point where my phone rang and I saw it was from the front office, it was like here we go again,” Goudeau said. “It was definitely weird and kind of sad that you got to the point where you expected it when someone called you. Thankfully this time when the manager pulled me into the office, it was not that case.”
Goudeau had a 2.79 ERA after two starts with the Bats. He pitched in four games with the Colorado Rockies this season out of the bullpen, and Goudeau will come out of the bullpen for the Reds.
“It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster this year with some of the transactions going on,” Goudeau said. “I’m just very thankful to get another chance to pitch.”
Scott Heineman makes his first start
On Friday, the Reds called outfielder Scott Heineman up from Triple-A, and he made his Reds debut as a pinch-hitter.
The next day, Heineman was in the lineup for his first start with the team. With the Reds facing Brewers left-handed starter Brett Anderson, Heineman started in center field over left-handed hitting outfielders Shogo Akiyama and Tyler Naquin.
“We think (Heineman) can thrive, especially against left-handed pitching,” Bell said. “He’s getting a start today against a left-hander. We won’t miss a beat having him.”
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