When Tony Santillan walked up the dugout steps and onto the field before heading to the bullpen Sunday, it was his welcome to the big leagues moment.
The pre-game walk to the bullpen was a special moment for Santillan and for the family members who traveled to Great American Ball Park. A childhood dream finally achieved. He had a chance to take in the crowd before his first Major League start. It was the first time he’s pitched in front of that many people.
But once the pre-game festivities ended, Santillan’s nerves were gone. It just felt like another start, he said. He walked slowly to the first-base line, hopped over the chalk and then jogged the mound for the top of the first inning.
More:Series Wrap: Rookies continue to step up for Cincinnati Reds during hot streak
“Once I stepped on the mound, it was the same game, same kid playing the game, so I just went out there and threw my game,” Santillan said. “It was a great experience. It was fun to be here. It was the dream come true, obviously. I enjoyed every minute of it, for sure.”
Santillan pitched OK in his debut against the Colorado Rockies. He permitted five hits and four walks while hitting two batters, but he limited the damage. He allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings and he struck out five.
He gave up hits to the first two batters he faced, including a ground-rule double to Yonathan Daza, but he settled in afterward. Charlie Blackmon hit a sacrifice fly and Santillan stranded a runner at second with a strikeout and a lineout.
“What was so fun to see and impressive from Tony was the look in the eye that he came in with,” Reds manager David Bell said. “He was not backing down and yeah, it wasn't easy, but it was very impressive.”
Said Santillan: “I mean, obviously it wasn’t a pretty (pitching) line. But I battled and got out of some very key jams in that game and kept the team in the ballgame. At the end of the day, I will take the positive out of that and build off of that and get ‘er going.”
Santillan, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound right-hander, mostly stuck to a two-pitch mix. He threw his fastball in the mid-90s, topping out at 97 mph, and his slider was effective.
The Rockies had two runners on base with no outs in the third inning. Santillan struck out the next two hitters, then issued a four-pitch walk. He fell behind in a 3-1 count to C.J. Cron, but the crowd of 18,268 recognized the moment and cheered him on. Santillan said it was one of his favorite moments of his debut and he pitched out of it by inducing a flyout.
In the second inning, he stranded two runners with the help of a sliding catch in foul territory by catcher Tucker Barnhart on an attempted sacrifice bunt.
“I was relying a lot on that fastball-slider combo,” Santillan said. “It got me here this year. I trusted it and went out there and whatever happened, happened. I was going to be happy with it because I was throwing what my best stuff was.”
Santillan, who spent last season at the alternate site, was a second-round pick in the 2015 MLB Draft and viewed as one of the organization’s top pitching prospects for years.
He struggled at Double-A in 2019 when he pitched through some injuries, posting a 2-8 record and 4.84 ERA in 21 starts. His walk rate skyrocketed, and his strikeout rate was dropping.
When he showed up to spring training this year, his velocity was up, and he pitched with a lot of poise. After a strong start at Triple-A Louisville, he earned the nod for Sunday’s start with Sonny Gray on the 10-day injured list.
“It’s incredible,” Jesse Winker said. “I think it just shows you our depth as an organization. I think to be a winning ball club, you have to have that.”
Santillan is scheduled to make his next start Friday in San Diego.
Source link
