Padres greet Luis Castillo with trio of dingers, Reds lose again 6-2

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Jose Peraza had another 3-hit night. Scott Schebler homered. Mason Williams homered, too.

Still, the Cincinnati Reds fell for the fourth consecutive game against teams that are going nowhere this season, this time against the San Diego Padres. So, have your pick.

Key Plays

• Luis Castillo hummed a meatball to Francisco Mejia in the Top of the 3rd, which was crushed for a dinger. Reds trailed, 1-0.
• Luis Castillo hummed a meatball to Hunter Renfroe in the Top of the 4th, which was crushed for a dinger. Reds trailed, 2-0.
• Luis Castillo hummed another meatball to Francisco Mejia later on in the Top of the 4th, which came after the Padres had managed to put another pair of runners on-base in front of him. It, too, was crushed for a dinger. Reds trailed, 5-0.
• The Padres small-balled their way to another run off Matt Wisler in the Top of the 7th, and it began with a leadoff walk to Freddy Galvis, in case the meatballs weren’t fun enough. A single, sac bunt, and sac fly later, and the Reds trailed, 6-0.
• Schebler finally got the Reds on the board with his solo blast in the Bottom of the 7th, one that came off rookie righty Trey Wingenter. Later that inning, Williams smacked a solo dinger of his own, which left the Reds behind, 6-2. That, folks, is how things ended.

Tony Gifanino

Other Notes

• If this reads as if you’ve read the same thing before, well, it sure as hell feels like it’s been written before. Cincinnati Reds starting pitching hasn’t been up to snuff, still isn’t, and for the billionth year in a row, they can’t do anything but serve up homers at a colossal rate to whomever they’re playing, even if it’s the no-name San Diego Padres. It’s bumping up against this being the same story for the almost 25 years running, barring a brilliant, miraculous few Johnny Cueto-fueled years.
• Luis Castillo did not walk anyone, and he did strike out 7 in his 5 IP. He only allowed 5 H, too - with 3 of those being homers, of course. Thanks to an error coming before the big 3-run blast, only 2 of his runs allowed were earned, which is a really hilarious thing to say when the pitcher allowed 3 dingers on the night.
• Either Joey Votto still isn’t right - and hasn’t been all season - or he got incredibly old, incredibly fast. It feels like he hasn’t hit the snot out of a ball he knew was coming in so, so long. He still can battle - and his pair of walks shows he’ll still own the strike zone until he’s 90 - but he’s looked nothing but defensive at the plate for as long as I can remember.
• The Reds and Padres will play again on Friday evening, with yet another 6:40 PM ET start time to throw you off. Anthony DeSclafani will start for Cincinnati, while a pitcher named ‘B. Kennedy’ will go for San Diego. Bruce? Benny? Brett? Bagheera? Banjo? Bastian? Bronson? You be the judge.
• Tunes.