Homers back brilliant Luis Castillo as Cincinnati Reds beat Cardinals, 5-3

There have been, and there will be more stat-based recaps here at Red Reporter. Tonight, however, this one I watched with my eye purely on the feel of things.

As the Cincinnati Reds have weathered bullpen implosions and brutally timed injuries of late, their ownership has failed to sanction any additions to bolster this group. Instead, it’s seemingly been left to the group that’s out there right now to get the job done while it’s still there, and that the St. Louis Cardinals were the next club in the way during this stretch was certainly a serious roadblock for any fan who’s watched those two tussle over the years.

Saturday saw the Reds pull all the punches, thankfully. Luis Castillo was once again brilliant, not only with his patented brand of frisbee changeups and devastating fastballs, but also getting out of most every jam the faulty defense put him in early. The bullpen bent, but did not break, and more big days from Joey Votto, Jesse Winker, Jonathan India, and Kyle Farmer made sure the Reds took home the series victory when the duct-taped version of this club needed it most.

Sean Doolittle deserves some dap, getting the final out of what had become a serious jam in the 8th inning. So, too, does Shogo Akiyama, who made the catch of the season to get Luis Castillo to his finish line for the evening. Heath Hembree then chipped in with a save, continuing to evolve into the closest thing to a rock the Reds can lean on while the injury ward gets healthy.

The Reds will go for the series sweep tomorrow at 1:10 PM ET.