Reds’ Gibaut ‘pretty happy’ with rehab outing in Dayton

Reds reliever Ian Gibaut is happy and greeted by catcher Logan Tanner after throwing a scoreless inning and striking out three for the Dragons in a rehab appearance during Friday night's season opener at Day Air Ballpark. Jeff Gilbert/CONTRIBUTED

Reds reliever Ian Gibaut is happy and greeted by catcher Logan Tanner after throwing a scoreless inning and striking out three for the Dragons in a rehab appearance during Friday night's season opener at Day Air Ballpark. Jeff Gilbert/CONTRIBUTED

Cincinnati Reds reliever Ian Gibaut walked off the mound Friday night at Day Air Ballpark with a broad smile and strong handshake for catcher Logan Tanner.

In his first rehab appearance since he strained his right forearm shortly before spring training, Gibaut pitched a scoreless inning for the Dayton Dragons and struck out three.

Gibaut pitched the fifth inning in the Dragons’ 1-0 Midwest League loss to Lansing. His strikeout pitches came on a slider, cutter and fastball.

“I felt good,” he said. “All the stuff was working. It definitely gives you the confidence if you’re punching guys out with different pitches.”

Gibaut allowed a single and walked a batter.

“I’m not looking for results,” he said. “If I feel good and stuff’s moving the right way, then I’m pretty happy with the outing.”

Gibaut threw at home in Houston right before spring training and said he was ready to come to Goodyear in better shape than last year. But he woke up the next morning with a sore forearm. He went to Goodyear and the only pitch he could throw was a slider. So he shut it down.

Gibaut will pitch another inning Sunday for the Dragons. Then he will join AAA Louisville and expects to make a few appearances there before joining the Reds. His rehab time is not just recovering from injury but also about making up for lost time in spring training.

“I miss the team a lot,” Gibaut said of wanting to get back to the Reds. “Last year I feel like everyone really got close. There was no sense of division of pitchers and position players. It was all one unit. Everybody was pulling for everybody.”

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