In what could be his last homestand as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, right fielder Nick Castellanos delivered another memorable moment in a Reds uniform.
Castellanos has an opt-out at the end of the 2021 season, but all year he has said his focus has been on helping lead the Reds to wins. On Saturday night at Great American Ball Park, Castellanos hit a walk-off home run to center field as the Reds beat the Nationals, 7-6.
Castellanos hit his career-high 31st home run of the season and provided the theatrics in a game where the Reds needed a standout performance from its offense.
All season, one of the Reds’ biggest strengths has been the depth of their starting rotation. For most of the year, the Reds have leaned on the same five pitchers to throw deep into games, but Cincinnati hasn’t been able to use that formula lately.
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On Friday, Reds starting pitcher Sonny Gray threw just 88 pitches and left the game after the fourth inning. Before Saturday’s game, the Reds placed starting pitcher Wade Miley on the injured list with a neck strain.
Then on Saturday, Vladimir Gutierrez continued his trend of short starts. The Reds rookie has already thrown over 100 innings, and Gutierrez didn’t pitch in 2020 due to a suspension. He had a 3.68 ERA on Aug. 27, but Gutierrez has pitched fewer than four innings in six of his next seven starts.
On Saturday, Gutierrez left the game with the bases loaded in the third inning after throwing just 55 pitches. With his fastball lacking the same explosiveness it had earlier in the season, Gutierrez walked four batters and allowed four runs.
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With the starting pitching struggling, the Reds bullpen needed to cover 16 ⅓ innings over the first three games of the series against the Nationals. That included an important performance from the pitcher who nearly picked up a blown save on Friday.
Mychal Givens has been the Reds most effective closer this season, and he has pitched in most of the high-leverage ninth innings over the last two months. In Friday’s extra-innings win, Givens picked up his second blown save as a Red. He was pulled after he threw a season-high 34 pitches and allowed the game-tying run.
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One day later, even though Givens had pitched extensively on Friday, Bell called on Givens again for the ninth inning. In front of a crowd of 18,293 fans at Great American Ball Park, Givens retired all three batters he faced.
On Friday, David Bell said Givens was too careful navigating the hitters in the middle of Washington’s lineup. On Saturday, Givens executed his plan against all three batters that he faced.
He stepped up in a series where the Reds bullpen has needed to go above and beyond.
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