The Reds' Luis Castillo and the Pittsburgh Pirates' starter JT Brubaker were stingy in the final game of the four game series.
Brubaker blinked first and it fostered a Reds' sweep of the last-place Pirates with a 1-0 verdict and a sweep that wpuld put the Reds in a virtual tie for second place in the division with the St. Louis Cardinals with a loss to Milwaukee in the second game of a double header. The Reds are now 25-26 with nine games left to play.
With two outs and no one on in the fifth inning, Jose Garcia singled sharply to left field, the Reds' second hit of the game. Curt Casali singled to center on a 3-2 pitch which allowed Garcia to take third. Casali took second on a steal which didn't draw a throw. Shogo Akiyama came through with a hard single to center that allowed Garcia to score. Casali tried to score when the Pirates cut the throw home and had Akiyama in a run down.
Prior to the inning Brubaker was touched with an infield hit.
Castillo limited the Pirates to three harmless singles through seven innings. He walked one and struck out 10. He pitched a complete game in a win over St. Louis in his last game.
"He backed up his last start, he couldn't get much better than that but to be able to back that up was huge for us," David Bell said.
Castillo is becoming a staff ace at the right time as the Reds hunt a trip to the playoffs.
"It is a personal dream of mine to make the playoffs," Casali said. Castillo has improved after an 0-5 start to the abbreviated season.
"It was a small mechanical thing that made him (Castillo) more successful," Castillo said. "Then it has been trust with me and Tucker. He doesn't always shake into his change up. It is still elite but he has more trust in other pitches. I trust him with every pitch I call."
Nick Castellanos, who had the infield single in the first inning, reached Brubaker for a double in which he forced a throw. Joey Votto's ground out sent Castellanos to third. The Pirates brought Sam Howard in from the bullpen. Tyler Stephenson hit for Jesse Winker. The rookie ended the first game of the series with a home run off Howard.
"Shogo is seeing a lot of pitches and has been able to compete," Bell said.
"I wasn't looking for a specific pitch. When it got to two strikes I just had to swing at anything in the strike zone," Akiyama said through an interpreter.
This time Howard caught Stephenson looking at a 3-2 pitch. Mike Moustakas grounded out to end the threat.
Castillo walked Josh Bell in a scoreless seventh inning, leaving him with 91 pitches.
Archie Bradley relieved Castillo in the eighth inning, trying to protect the slim lead. Bradley retired the Bucs in order to carry the lead into the ninth.
Raisel Iglesias came into the ninth inning, an attempt to earn his eighth saves in his 10th attempt. He had just one run to work with. Mission accomplished Iglesias disposed of the top of the Pirates order on eight pitches to complete the shutout and the sweep.
The Reds are a percentage point ahead of the Cardinals for second place .490 to .489. The Reds have nine games to play. The Cardinals who are making up games from the Covid quarantines, have 15 games left. The first two teams in each division make the playoffs. There are also two wild card entries.
"Our clubhouse is excited," Bell said. "We've put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs. We will get some rest tomorrow and get back to the fun on Friday. We believe in what we're doing. We believe in our players. We're doing every thing we can to prepare and compete.
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