The Cincinnati Reds needed a spark on Wednesday night, but instead they ran into a familiar arm that shut everything down. Former Reds starter Luis Castillo handled his old club with ease, and Cincinnati’s offense never found a way to answer in a 5-0 loss to the White Sox.
The defeat dropped the Reds to 57-62 and kept the pressure on a team that, if it wants to make any kind of postseason push, has little room left to waste games. On this night, the bats went cold in a hurry.
Castillo was the story from the start. He worked seven scoreless innings and allowed only one hit while walking two and striking out 10. It was the first time this season he reached double-digit strikeouts in a game, and he did it against a Reds lineup that never looked comfortable.
Cincinnati finished with just two hits, both from Sal Stewart.
While the offense was quiet, Rhett Lowder gave the Reds a chance to stay in it. He wasn’t overpowering, but he kept working and gave Cincinnati 5 1/3 innings with two runs allowed on seven hits. One of those runs came after he left, when Julian Garcia gave up a home run.
Lowder also walked one batter, struck out four, and threw 59 of his 94 pitches for strikes.
The game slipped further away in the eighth, when new Reds reliever Ron Marinaccio allowed two more White Sox runs.
The Reds will try to take the series on Thursday afternoon at 2:10 ET. Andrew Abbott is scheduled to start for Cincinnati, while Davis Martin will get the ball for the White Sox.
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