Luis Castillo dazzles as Cincinnati Reds down New York Yankees 7-6, win series

I have no idea exactly how sincere the New York Yankees are about adding an ace the caliber of Luis Castillo this summer. They’re already sitting on 62 wins in 2022, tied for their team record for the most wins in franchise history before the All Star break.

The New York Yankees. Franchise history. 27 fucking World Series titles.

When you’ve packed a roster with as much talent as that, going for the Sly Stallone Over the Top Trade at the end of July might seem like overkill, especially if it cost you the kind of prospect that Anthony Volpe is. That said, the way Castillo has been pitching - and pitched against the Yankees tonight - only goes to show just how locked-in his right arm is.

Castillo eschewed godawful home plate umpiring and miserable infield defense by his Cincinnati Reds teammates to make it through 7 IP in Yankee Stadium, carrying a no-hitter into the 6th and somehow getting charged with 1 earned run. His defense failed him in that allowance, really, but Castillo pitched around it, fanning Jose Trevino on his 114th and final pitch of the evening to get around the jam created around him. That was also his 8th K, and it left him with a season ERA of just 2.77 in the process.

An early Brandon Drury sac-fly meant that Castillo was pitching with a lead until the 7th, and an 8th inning rally that included a Clutch [TM] ribbie from Joey Votto and a 2-run single by Kyle Farmer gave the Reds an eventual 4-1 lead.

Unfortunately, the bullpen.

Jeff Hoffman was the bed-wetter this time around, as he yielded a moonshot homer to Aaron Judge, a walk, and a Yankee Stadium Right Field Special [TM] of a dinger to Gleyber Torres that jammed the scoreboard at 4-4 in the Bottom of the 8th. The two clubs then moved at a glacial pace into extra innings...

...at which point the Cincinnati Reds went back to bonking! Against lefty Lucas Luetge, Joey Votto clubbed a double to score the ghostrunner in the Top of the 10th to give the Reds a lead, while each of Tyler Stephenson and Donovan Solano followed with ribbie hits of their own. That gave the Reds a 7-4 lead, and Reiver Sanmartin - who had kept the Yankees offense off the board in the Bottom of the 9th, too - promptly served up a 2-run homer to Matt Carpenter that scored the Yankee ghostrunner and made it a 7-6 game.

Dauri Moreta, though, managed to finally, mercifully get the game’s final out, and the Reds took home a 7-6 win - and won a series against the mighty Yankees in Yankee Stadium.

HUZZAH!