Amir Garrett throws six shutout innings in MLB debut, leads Reds past Cardinals

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Amir Garrett made his debut for the Cincinnati Reds on Friday, and while the outcome of the game was the way the bottom line of the day would be judged, how he fared on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals may well have been a glimpse into the future of both Garrett and the Reds.

If how the talented lefty performed on Friday night was any indication, the Reds have a pile of things to be excited about going forward.

Garrett hit his spots, attacked the zone, was pitch efficient, and kept Cardinals' hitters off-balance through 6 stellar innings for Cincinnati, and looked every bit the part of the guy who had cracked every major Top 100 prospect list available prior to the start of the season. His final line:  6 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K on 78 greatly impressive pitches.

As big league debuts go, it's tough to find more than a handful in recent Cincinnati memory that have been markedly better. As far as the future of the Reds goes, well, chalk up tonight as a big reason to be excited.

Honorable Mentions are due to:  Michael Lorenzen, who tossed a perfect inning out of the pen; Billy Hamilton, who had a 2-hit evening and stole a base; Zack Cozart, who doubled as part of his own 2-hit evening (and added a walk and a steal, to boot); Joey Votto, who doubled in a run; Scott Schebler, who played wonderful add-on with his 9th inning homer; and Raisel Iglesias, who shut the Cardinals down for the save in a dominant 2 inning effort.

Key Plays

• It took until the Top of the 6th, but the Reds finally got to former teammate Mike Leake with the top of their order. Hamilton singled and stole 2B, and Votto's double into the RF corner two batters later easily brought the speedy Cincinnati CF in to score. Reds led, 1-0.
• Schebler added an insurance run in the Top of the 9th off Kevin Siegrist, ripping a solo shot to the opposite field to put the Reds ahead, 2-0.
• After that, Iglesias did what Iglesias does, which was a delight to watch. Reds won, 2-0!

Tony Graphanino

Source: FanGraphs

Other Notes

• There was one particular Reds blogholio who talked adamantly about why the team should've kept Desmond Jennings to face LHP since Schebler's career platoon splits looked rough. Well, Scott doinked a chuckwagon against one of the toughest lefties in the game in this one, which is good enough for an eat-crow of an Other Note.
• Not a single St. Louis Cardinal reached even 2B on the night, at least not until the final inning. That's funky fresh dominance.
• Recent waiver claim Tyler Goeddel apparently passed through waivers and was outrighted to AAA Louisville earlier Friday, as The Enquirer’s C. Trent Rosecrans noted on Twitter. That leaves the club’s 40-man roster at 39...
• ...and Bronson Arroyo - who still hasn’t been added to the 40-man roster - is slated to start Saturday against the Cardinals in the second game of the series. That should make the administrative portion of his addition to the roster rather seamless, so expect him on the hill for tomorrow afternoon’s game. First pitch, by the way, is set for 2:15 PM ET, and Michael Wacha will be on the bump for the Filthy Cards.
• Tunes.