Neither Castillo nor Lodolo survived the fifth inning in what turned out to be an 8-4 Reds victory, their fourth straight win and sixth in seven games.
Castillo, making his first start against his former team, didn’t make it mostly because of a stranger in the Reds lineup.
Austin Hays came off the injured list to make his Reds debut Tuesday night and it was a debut that Hays will remember the rest of his life.
He carried the big bat to home plate that the Reds have been looking for in the middle of their order. And he used it.
He singled to drive in a run in his second at bat to tie the game, 2-2, then crushed a three-run home run in the fifth inning when the Reds were down, 4-3, and gave them a 6-4 lead.
“I had to wait a couple more weeks to put this jersey on, the boys have been playing great, it’s a good atmosphere, I’m glad to be back and happy I was able to help them win tonight,” he said.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Manager Terry Francona, smiling from here to there, felt as if the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus arrived on the same day.
“We’ve missed him,‘’ he said. “It doesn’t always work that quickly when a guy comes back. We missed him because he is such a professional. The way he works and goes about his business, it’s really welcome.”
Lodolo’s problem was a guy named Dylan Moore, batting leadoff for the Mariners for only the second time this season. He yanked Lodolo’s second pitch of the game for a home run.
And he singled home a run in the second to give the Mariners a 2-0 lead. Then he homered again in the fifth to push Seattle ahead, 4-2.
“When I was in the zone, he jumped on it,” said Lodolo. “The only pitch I got by him was the first pitch of the game. A credit to him, he didn’t miss.”
Lodolo retired the next two after Moore’s second homer, then was removed. In 4⅔ innings he gave up four runs and five hits — three hits to Moore.
“Other than that, outside of him (Moore), I made some good pitches...but he killed me,” said Lodolo, whose earned run average climbed from 0.96 to 2.31.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Hays wasn’t the only newcomer to the lineup.
Second baseman Matt McLain returned after 10 days on the injured list and walked three times, the third walk came with the bases loaded during a two-run eighth inning. And he scored twice.
Nearly lost in the Hays-McLain returns was a 4-for-4 night by Gavin Lux that produced two RBI and a run scored.
Closer Alexis Diaz retur
ned and Francona stuck him out in for the sixth inning with mixed results when the Reds led, 6-4. It was precarious because he walked two.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
He struck out Moore for the second out but had used up 26 pitches and Francona went to his new and successful formula.
Graham Ashcraft, Tony Santillan and Emilio Pagan. Ashcraft replaced Diaz and issued a walk to fill the bases, then retired ever-dangerous Cal Raleigh.
That began a string of 10 straight Mariners retired. Ashcraft, the middle man, pitched a perfect seventh, Santillan, the set-up man, pitched a perfect eighth.
Pagan warmed up while the Reds scored two runs in the eighth on Jake Fraley’s double, three straight walks and Elly De La Cruz’s RBI groundout.
It was 8-4 and no longer a save situation, but Francona’s philosophy is if a pitcher warms up, he comes into the game. So Pagan came in and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts.
“The bullpen was terrific,” said Francona. “We started to get ourselves into a little bind there in the sixth, but Ashcraft got out of it. Then they did what they’ve been doing. It’s been fun to watch.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
It couldn’t have been as much fun as watching Hays and his magnificent debut.
Of his home run, Hays trotted out all the cliches hitters seem to use in explaining big hits.
“I was looking for him (Castillo) to get a pitch over the plate,” he said. “We had two guys in scoring position with first base open and I just wanted to put a good swing on it.
“I was trying to make him throw a strike, get some wood on it and I got enough, barely enough. This was my Opening Day and I’m so happy to put on this Cincinnati jersey for the first time.”
It was 404 feet, just enough, barely enough, to clear the center field wall.
What it all adds up to is the Reds, who ended Seattle’s four-game winning streak, climbed over .500 (9-8) for the first time this season.
Since they lost three straight 1-0 games, the Reds are 7-2.
Not only did they beat Castillo, who blew on his pitching hand before every pitch and grabbed the top of his cap after every pitch, but they scored a rare win over the Mariners.
Since interleague play began, the Reds were 5-19 against the Mariners before Tuesday and suffered a three-game sweep last year in Seattle and were outscored, 17-5.
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