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Can the Reds please play the Marlins every day?
What looked like a potential pitcher’s duel on paper between Luis Castillo and Caleb Smith turned into a slugfest in Miami on Tuesday evening. The Reds triumphed 8-5 behind huge days at the plate from Eugenio Suarez, Nick Senzel, and Curt Casali. They’ve won all five games against the Marlins this season and have two to go.
All three aforementioned players smacked home runs into the left-field seats. Suarez mashed his 37th homer of the season in the 1st inning (111.0 mph, 385 feet) to put the Reds on the board. Casali added one in the fourth (101.7 mph, 388 feet) to tie the game at three. Senzel joined the party in the sixth (98.1 mph, 395 feet) to extend the Reds’ lead to 7-3. In between that, Casali came through with a two-out, two-run single in the fifth inning to break the three-all tie. Casali is up to a 100 wRC+ on the season in 182 plate appearances.
Senzel also added a run-scoring single that came off the bat at 107 mph. His night was nice to see after he’s struggled for most of the month. He was held out of the lineup for two straight days in Pittsburgh and is 4-for-8 with two walks and a hit by pitch since returning on Monday. Of the five balls he’s put into play, three have been hard hit (95+ mph).
Joey Votto went 0-for-5 in his return to action following a stint on the injured list with a strained lower back.
Castillo’s night on the mound started and ended on rough notes, but he was dominant in between. The right-hander struggled with locating his pitches through the first two innings. His fastballs were drifting off the plate or into the heart of the strike zone. His changeup was too low to even be tempting to hitters. He hung a few sliders. The right-hander allowed three runs and tossed 45 pitches in the opening two frames. In the fourth and fifth innings, Castillo struck out six of the seven hitters he faced. Ten of his 17 swings and misses in the game came in those two innings, and he struck out 11 batters in total.
But his night ended on a sour note when he issued a leadoff walk in the sixth inning and surrendered a two-run homer to Jorge Alfaro.
Robert Stephenson, Amir Garrett, and Raisel Iglesias threw three combined scoreless innings in relief.
Reds Most Valuable Players
- Curt Casali: .322 WPA (Win Probability Added) | 2-for-5, HR, 3 RBI
- Nick Senzel: .224 WPA | 2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI, HBP, BB
- Eugenio Suarez: .214 WPA | 3-for-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI
Reds Least Valuable Players
- Luis Castillo: -.177 WPA | 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 11 K
- Phillip Ervin: -.086 WPA | 1-for-5, 3B, K
- Freddy Galvis: -.085 WPA | 0-for-5, 2 K
Play of the Game
- Curt Casali: .242 WPA | Go-ahead two-run single in 5th inning, Reds lead 5-3
Hardest-Hit Balls
- Eugenio Suarez: 111.0 mph home run in 1st inning
- Nick Senzel: 106.5 mph single in 7th inning
- Curt Casali: 101.7 mph home run in 4th inning
Luckiest Hit of the Day
- Jose Iglesias: .220 xBA, 78.0 mph, -57° LA; Infield single
Unluckiest Out of the Day
- Curt Casali: .690 xBA, 71.8 mph, 16° LA; Lineout
Highest Pitch Velocities by Pitcher
- Luis Castillo: 98.7 mph four-seam fastball
- Raisel Iglesias: 97.3 mph four-seam fastball
- Amir Garrett: 95.7 mph two-seam fastball
- Robert Stephenson: 95.5 mph four-seam fastball
