KANSAS CITY – During a five-game winning streak, the Cincinnati Reds felt things were finally turning for their bullpen.
The bullpen hadn’t allowed an earned run in 16 innings. Despite losing top arms Tejay Antone and Lucas Sims to the injured list, Reds relievers had a 1.06 ERA in their last 11 games.
The fun is over.
In a game where the Reds led by five runs in the seventh inning, it ended in a 7-6, walk-off loss to the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. Salvador Perez hit a walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and provided an abrupt end to the Reds’ five-game winning streak.
The Reds entered Tuesday’s game with a 30-1 record when leading after eight innings.
The slide started when Cionel Pérez surrendered a two-run homer to Andrew Benintendi with two outs in the eighth inning. Pérez struck out the first batter he faced, Hanser Alberto, but Alberto reached base on a passed ball.
In the ninth inning, the first three batters reached base against Brad Brach through a walk, hit by pitch and a ground ball that went through third baseman Eugenio Suárez’s legs. One run scored on Suárez’s error and Heath Hembree entered with a two-run lead, two runners in scoring position and no outs.
After Hembree struck out pinch-hitter Jorge Soler, Nicky Lopez followed with a two-run single into left field. Reds left fielder Aristides Aquino had a chance of throwing out Michael A. Taylor at the plate, but his throw was high and went past catcher Tyler Stephenson for an error.
Lopez, the No. 9 batter, advanced to third on the throwing error. The Reds played with a five-man infield with the game-winning run 90 feet away.
Amir Garrett, the Reds’ third reliever of the ninth inning, struck out Andrew Benintendi for the second out of the inning. That brought up Perez for his walk-off heroics.
The walk-off loss spoiled a strong start from Luis Castillo, who continues to pitch like the ace he was expected to be this season.
Castillo permitted three hits and one run in seven innings. He’s posted a 2.00 ERA over his last seven starts, and he’s pitched at least six innings in six of them.
Tuesday was a good example of how he’s improved this year. He didn’t necessarily have his most overpowering stuff, but he always seemed in control.
Castillo received some help from his defense, which included himself when he caught a line-drive comebacker to the mound on his second batter of the evening. Akiyama made a running catch on the warning track in center field to end the first inning and Castillo waited in front of the dugout to congratulate him. Tyler Naquin made a sliding grab in the seventh inning.
His lone blemish was a solo homer from Taylor in the fifth inning, a slider that didn’t move out of the middle of the plate. It was the first home run against Castillo since June 4, ending a 37-inning homerless streak.
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