Castillo pitches 2-hitter, Votto HR as Reds beat Cardinals

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Luis Castillo pitched a two-hitter for his first complete game in the majors, Joey Votto homered and the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 Friday night.

Castillo (2-5) struck out six and walked three in winning his second straight start. An All-Star last year, the right-hander made his 87th career start in the big leagues.

“It’s marvelous,” Castillo said. “To throw nine innings of a baseball game, I’m super, super emotional.”

Castillo outpitched Adam Wainwright (4-1), who allowed three runs in six innings. The Cardinals lost for the fourth time in six games.

Only twice did St. Louis get a runner to third against Castillo, who has given up just three earned runs in his past 15 innings.

Castillo retired 13 straight before walking Paul Goldschmidt with two outs in the ninth, then got Brad Miller on a grounder to end it. With the help of a double play in the fifth, Castillo faced one over the minimum in the final six innings.

“It is pretty rare in today’s game,” Reds manager David Bell said of the complete game. “So it’s that much more special. I don’t know what was better, seeing him pitch or the smiles. It’s great for him. It’s great for the team.”

Votto hit his seventh home run of the season in the first off Wainwright to give the Reds a 2-0 lead. The two-run drive came on a 3-1 count with one out to drive in Nick Castellanos.

Votto has faced Wainwright 57 times over their long careers, batting .333 with four homers and 11 RBIs.

Friday marked the 15th anniversary of Wainwright’s big league debut. In the latter part of his career he’s adjusted to become more of a finesse pitcher rather than the hard thrower he’s been most of his career.

He said the touch wasn’t always there Friday, especially in...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Castillo-pitches-2-hitter-Votto-HR-as-Reds-beat-15561484.php