|
 Castillo hit his seventh home run in 11 games to support
right-hander Chase Anderson in the Diamondbacks' 2-0 victory over
the Cincinnati Reds at Chase Field on Friday.
"I'm just trying to hit the ball hard somewhere," Castillo said.
"Wherever the ball goes is fine. I know I have a little pop, but I
don't try to do it, honestly, because when I try to do it I get in
trouble. I start to swing at bad pitches and get in a slump.
"That's what I put in my mind -- get your base hit through the
middle, and when they make a mistake you are going to hit it out."
Castillo has 12 homers in 43 games with the Diamondbacks since being
acquired from Seattle in the Mark Trumbo trade on June 3, and he has
14 homers this season, including early stops with the Cubs and
Mariners. He had 13 with the Cubs in 2014.
"We expected him to be a good player," Arizona manager Chip Hale
said. "Did we expect him to be as clutch as he is, with the home
runs and the RBIs, probably not. That's the truth. But we're excited
about him. We're excited about his future here with us."
Anderson (5-4) gave up four hits and retired the last eight batters
he faced in his first start since July 18, when he was placed on the
disabled list with right triceps inflammation. He struck out seven
and walked two.
"I tried to let the triceps rest a little bit and come back feeling
strong, and I felt great today," Anderson said.
"And 'Beef mode' again, home run."
Arizona left fielder David Peralta singled in right fielder Ender
Inciarte in the first inning as the Diamondbacks (53-55) won the
third in their last five.
First baseman Joey Votto had the Reds' only extra-base hit, a double
in the first inning, and also walked twice. He has reached base via
hit or walk 56 times in his last 19 games.
The Reds (48-59) have lost four of five and have been shut out three
times in that stretch. They got only one runner to third base, that
on a throwing error with two outs in the fifth inning.
"Right now we are not swinging the bats very well," Cincinnati
manager Bryan Price said. "It is baseball. You want it to turn and I
know it is going to turn. We just have to fall back on the fact we
have had guys that have performed in the past."
Right-hander Brad Ziegler had his 20th save for the Diamondbacks.
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Reds right-hander Raisel Iglesias (2-4) gave up gave up three hits
and walked one while striking out six. Iglesias, who signed a
seven-year contract with the Reds in July 2014 after emigrating from
Cuba, has 26 strikeouts in his last 24 innings over four starts.
"I feel very good every time I go out there because I know Bryan
Price has my back," Iglesias said through catcher Brayan Pena. "He
always gives me a good smile and a positive thought. That says a lot
about him as manager and makes me feel better as a pitcher."
Iglesias retired 15 in a row after getting a double play grounder to
end the first inning.
"He doesn't look at himself as a rookie that is here to learn,"
Price said. "He sees himself as a rookie that is here to produce."
NOTES: Arizona traded LHP Oliver Perez to Houston for Class A
left-hander Junior Garcia after the game. ... RHP Raisel Iglesias
became the ninth straight rookie to start for the Reds. It is the
longest consecutive stretch of rookie starters in the majors since
Oakland used rookies for the final 14 games of the 2012 season. The
trades of RHP Johnny Cueto and RHP Mike Leake left the Reds with
five rookies in their rotation. ... Arizona 1B Paul Goldschmidt was
0-for-3 in his return to the lineup after missing his first game of
the season on Thursday, two days after ending an 0-for-15 stretch
that included nine strikeouts. Goldschmidt still leads the National
League with 474 plate appearances. ... Arizona optioned RHP Allen
Webster to Triple-A Reno to make room for RHP Chase Anderson when he
returned from the disabled list to start Friday. ... Arizona's
six-game homestand that began Friday includes three-game series
against Cincinnati and Philadelphia and is bracketed by two 10-game
road trips.
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