Anthony DeSclafani spins gem in game between Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Anthony DeSclafani was positively brilliant in his start tonight in GABP.

Despite yielding an early dinger, he settled in and completely controlled his opponents, eventually getting through 7 IP while allowing only that early solo dinger to cross the plate. He scattered 6 hits and never truly had himself into any sort of real jam, fanning 7 against just 2 BB in a rock solid 107 pitch outing.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t pitch for the damn Cincinnati Reds anymore, and for the incredibly low price of just $6 million guaranteed for the 2021 season is slicing up eyeballs for a team willing to pay him. Tonight, those eyeballs were the Reds.

Key Plays

• After Castillo struck out the side in the Top of the 1st, Jesse Winker welcomed Disco back to GABP with a leadoff dong in the Bottom of the 1st, and the Reds held an early 1-0 lead.
• Castillo allowed a pair of singles before serving up a classic meatball to Alex Dickerson in the Top of the 4th, one that was parked into the RF fair pole for a 3-run dinger that completely deflated anything and everything that had been pumped-up prior. Reds trailed, 3-1.
• Heath Hembree surrendered a solo dinger to Brandon Crawford in the Top of the 7th that left the Reds in a 4-1 ditch.
• Nick Castellanos did his dinger-socking in the Bottom of the 7th, hitting an absolute laser over the wall in left center off San Francisco reliever Zack Littell. ‘Twas but a solo shot, however, and the Reds were still down 4-2. That’s unfortunately how things wrapped.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• Prior to the start of this game, the Reds optioned LHP Cionel Perez back to AAA Louisville and recalled OF Mark Payton.
• Tonight’s start featured a mixed bag of results for Luis Castillo, but the stuff behind the numbers was absolutely promising. Yes, he surrendered the 3-run tater that flipped the scoreboard for good, but he also fanned 11 in the 15 outs worth of work he provided, setting a season high (by a large margin) on whiffs. His final line - 3 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 11 K - was absolutely a step in the right direction, though I’ll acknowledge that it’s still frustrating to have to concede that a player of his caliber is still having to keep taking those ‘steps’ this deep into a season where winning ballgames is supposed to matter.
• Neither Mike Moustakas nor Nick Senzel started this game, as both are dealing with various ailments. Moose did eventually appear in the Bottom of the 8th and stayed in to play 1B for an inning.
• Reds pitchers struck out 17 batters on the night and, in case you just started reading this entire recap right here, they still found a way to lose. Ryan Hendrix did his part with some impressive relief work, fanning 4 in a pair of scoreless frames.
• It’ll be another reunion for the Giants and Reds on Wednesday, as Kevin Gausman takes the bump for San Francisco in the third game of the series. Wade Miley will look to get back to his no-no ways and forget whatever the hell happened in Coors Field as his opposition on the mound, with first pitch once again set for 6:40 PM ET.
• Tunes.