BOSTON – Watching Luis Castillo's first four starts of the season, everyone could see him slowly building toward his typical level.
Castillo missed the first month of the season because of a shoulder strain and he had minimal starts on his rehab assignment. He's gradually looked better in each successive start since joining the rotation.
His first career start at Fenway Park marked the return of the real Castillo. His fastball was up to 99 mph. Hitters who hadn’t seen his changeup could only flail at it.
Castillo struck out a season-high 10 batters across six innings to propel the Reds to a 2-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox in front of 28,577 fans. It’s the first time the Reds won a game at Fenway Park since Game 7 of the 1975 World Series.
"My idol Pedro Martinez pitched here and, sure enough, that kind of helped me to get through today," Castillo said, according to team interpreter Jorge Merlos. "I had that in mind all the way.”
There was no chance this game could match the theatrics of Tony Perez’s two-run homer or Joe Morgan’s go-ahead RBI single in the ninth inning in Game 7, but Castillo delivered his finest start of the season.
"Great fastball, maybe the best fastball of the year," Reds Manager David Bell said. "The velocity was definitely there. Located it well right from the beginning and as strong of an outing as he's had in a long time and that's saying a lot."
Protecting a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, Castillo walked his first two batters on eight pitches. Alexis Díaz quickly warmed up in the bullpen as Castillo’s pitch count crossed above 90. Catcher Tyler Stephenson and pitching coach Derek Johnson made mound visits.
Just as quickly as Castillo pitched himself into a jam, he found a way to pitch out of it. He induced a double play against Rafael Devers after opening the at-bat in a 3-1 count. Then he struck out J.D. Martinez on a slider in the dirt, a hitter who was batting .406 throughout May.
Stephenson and Castillo had identical celebrations, punching their right hands into their gloves, after the inning-ending strikeout.
"He's one of the few pitchers in the league that can do that at that point in the game," said Bell, adding he had a feeling Castillo would pitch out of the jam.
Castillo threw exactly 100 pitches, permitting one hit and three walks across his six innings. Just two balls left the infield. Before walking the first two hitters in the sixth inning, he had retired 14 of his last 15 batters.
With his fastball working so well, hitters were overpowered by his offspeed pitches. The Red Sox whiffed on eight of their 14 swings against his changeup.
"I know he doesn’t like pitching in the cold, so that might have helped a little bit of him working quick," Stephenson said. "From the get-go, he was just saying here’s 98 mph."
Red Sox starter Michael Wacha stymies Reds
Michael Wacha, who faced the Reds 23 times when he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals, was excellent for 5 2/3 innings as he tried to match Castillo. He allowed one unearned run and three hits without any walks.
The Reds scored both of their runs through two-out throwing errors, the first time they won a game without an RBI since July 17, 2016, according to Bally Sports. Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers bounced a throw into the camera well in the sixth inning and shortstop Xander Bogaerts misfired on a throw in the ninth inning.
"You knew that run in the ninth was going to come up big," Bell said. "You just had that sense."
The Reds outhit Boston, 8-4. Joey Votto hit a pair of doubles that both landed at the top of the wall and recoiled back onto the field, missing a two-homer night by a couple of inches.
Three of the Red Sox's hits came in the bottom of the ninth inning against closer Tony Santillan, including a two-out RBI single by Alex Verdugo. The crowd came to life and chanted, "Let's go Red Sox!"
It didn't faze Santillan, who stranded the tying run at third base by striking out Trevor Story.
"In some of these bigger cities, especially a city so used to winning, you can feel the momentum, so it takes a certain level of poise to be able to hold off that end-of-game momentum," Votto said. "I was really impressed."
May was a winning month for the Reds (14-13 record) following their three-win April. They no longer have the worst record in the league at 17-31, one game ahead of the Kansas City Royals.
And now the Reds have their elusive win at Fenway, their first win at the historic ballpark in 47 years.
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