It was early in the morning in Los Angeles when relief pitcher Mychal Givens found out he had been traded from the Colorado Rockies to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.
He tried to get on a flight to make it to the Reds game on Wednesday night against the Chicago Cubs, but Givens didn’t make it to the dugout until near the end of the game. He met a few of his teammates, got some sleep and arrived at Wrigley Field the next morning for a day game.
More:Series Wrap: Why the playoff math is still tough for the Cincinnati Reds
It was a whirlwind day-and-a-half, but it didn’t impact Givens on the mound. In his Reds debut in Thursday’s win over the Cubs, Givens struck out the side on just 11 pitches in a perfect eighth inning.
“Getting traded to the Reds, I was pretty excited,” Givens said. “I know a lot of the boys on this team and kind of grew up with most of them. I’m excited to make this playoff push.”
Facing the top of the Cubs order, Givens fanned Cubs outfielder Rafael Ortega with a 95 mph fastball. In the next at-bat against Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, Givens ramped up to 96.7 mph for a fastball strike three. He finished the inning by striking out Cubs infielder Patrick Wisdom with his fastball, and all three strikeouts in the eighth inning were swinging.
Joey Votto:Joey Votto homers again to set franchise record as Cincinnati Reds take series from Cubs
“Can’t get much better than that for any inning, you strike out the side,” Reds manager David Bell said. “It’s a different look. He’s had a lot of success pitching in those situations, so to go to a new team and be able to have a first outing like that, I think that’s really important to him.”
Givens, a 31-year-old right-hander, had a 2.73 ERA with the Colorado Rockies this season. Away from Coors Field, Givens has allowed only one run all season.
He has a career 3.35 ERA across seven big league seasons, and Givens now has the second-lowest career ERA of any reliever on the Reds active roster behind Sean Doolittle. Pitching with the Reds, Givens is pitching for a team in the playoff hunt for the first time since 2016.
“I don’t treat (anything) differently,” Givens said. “I still go out there and perform and try to win ball games. Regardless of place in the standings with the Rockies, we were really competitive.”
Cincinnati Reds:Luis Cessa, Justin Wilson excited about opportunities in Cincinnati Reds bullpen
“To have that feeling to be able to compete for another playoff like my rookie year is really exciting,” Givens said. “Really excited with the ball team. Really excited with the whole organization. I’m ready to go compete and win a World Series.”
CENTRAL WATCH: While the Reds have added three relievers this week, the teams they’re chasing in the playoff race have also been aggressive.
Entering the trade deadline, the Reds were seven games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. The Brewers added starting shortstop Willy Adames in May, and they added an even better infielder on Wednesday.
Milwaukee traded a pair of Minor League prospects to the Arizona Diamondbacks for All-Star infielder Eduardo Escobar. At the time of the trade, Escobar was tied for fifth in the NL with 22 home runs and tied for sixth with 65 RBI.
Reds:Cincinnati Reds GM Nick Krall doesn't rule out more moves after trading for 3 relievers
The Brewers' biggest weakness was their infield depth, and they addressed that issue by adding one of the best infielders on the trade market.
WILD CARD CHASE: The Reds entered the trade deadline five games back of the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card race. This week, the Padres traded for Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier, who was an All-Star Game starter and leads MLB in hits.
Reds vs Cubs:Amir Garrett on Javier Baez's walk-off taunts: 'Whatever you preach, you should stand on'
The Padres also made a deal with the Washington Nationals for Daniel Hudson, one of the best relief pitchers on the trade market. Through 31 games this year, Hudson has a 2.20 ERA.
Source link
