On June 15, when Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Luis Castillo threw seven shutout innings against the Milwaukee Brewers, he said he could tell that he was “back.”
After the first two months of the season, Castillo had a 7.22 ERA. In his first three starts of June, culminating with that start against the Brewers, Castillo found a rhythm with his changeup and said he was back to his All-Star level of 2019.
Five weeks later, Castillo isn’t just back. He’s in the middle of his best statistical 10-game stretch in his MLB career. On Saturday night at Great American Ball Park, Castillo didn’t allow an earned run over seven innings and led the Reds to a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
"I’ve been battling a lot, and everything that I’ve been working on has been working now in the past two months," Castillo said via interpreter Jorge Merlos. "I’m just going to keep battling out there as much as I can. Like I’ve said before, and I’ll keep saying, it’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish."
