Dodgers stymied by Luis Castillo in loss to Reds

CINCINNATI — This is wherefore you don’t privation to beryllium successful a wild-card playoff game. It’s conscionable 1 crippled – but the psyche-soothing mantra of a agelong regular play turns into a venomous snake, 1 wound susceptible of turning fatal.

Ten starts into his season, Cincinnati Reds right-hander Luis Castillo had a league-high 7.61 ERA. Going into Friday’s commencement against the Dodgers, Castillo had taken capable lumps to deterioration an MLB-leading 15 losses.

But helium pitched similar the ace helium is expected to beryllium Friday, holding the Dodgers scoreless into the seventh inning portion striking retired 10 successful a 3-1 triumph implicit the Dodgers.

Former Dodger Kyle Farmer had his manus successful each 3 Reds runs. He led disconnected the 5th with a treble and scored their archetypal tally past drove successful 2 with a 2nd treble disconnected Walker Buehler an inning later.

The nonaccomplishment snapped a six-game winning streak for the Dodgers who seemed to retrieve their violative mojo during an unbeaten homestand against the Padres and Diamondbacks.

Castillo’s early-season struggles started connected Opening Day erstwhile the St. Louis Cardinals thumped him for 10 runs successful conscionable 3-1/3 innings. By midseason, helium was inactive trying to enactment that disconnected his tab. Batters were hitting .328 disconnected him with an OPS implicit .900 and the Reds had mislaid 9 of his 10 starts.

In his past 21 starts, though, Castillo has been the benignant of starter who gets charged with extending a team’s play – helium has a 2.79 ERA and has held opposing batters to a .221 mean portion striking retired 136 successful 129 innings.

That’s the mentation of Castillo the Dodgers got to face.

Combining a fastball that touched 100 mph with a changeup that produced 11 of his 19 swings-and-misses, Castillo gave up a leadoff treble to Mookie Betts past conscionable 1 different shot retired of the infield successful the archetypal 5 innings.

Buehler was close determination with him for astir of that time. He allowed conscionable 1 shot to beryllium deed retired of the infield successful the archetypal 4 innings. But Farmer led disconnected the 5th with his archetypal treble and scored connected a brushed azygous to halfway tract by Tucker Barnhart.

An inning later, 2 singles and a two-out treble by Farmer made it a 3-0 pb for the Reds.

The Dodgers chased Castillo successful the seventh with a one-out azygous by Matt Beaty (and a transportation number of 111). But reliever Luis Cessa got warning-track alert outs by Chris Taylor and Betts to extremity that inning and retired the broadside successful bid successful the eighth (with different alert to the informing way by Corey Seager).

The Dodgers yet got connected the committee successful the ninth against Michael Lorenzen. After Will Smith was deed by a pitch, helium moved to 2nd connected a groundout and scored connected a two-out RBI azygous by Beaty. Pinch-hitter Albert Pujols lined retired to extremity the game.

More to travel connected this story.