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The Short Version: Luis Castillo is probably the best pitcher on the planet, though Raisel Iglesias has decided to stake his own claim. In other news: Reds score four runs and win their third game in a row!

Final R H E
Cincinnati Reds (8-12) 4 7 0
San Diego Padres (11-11) 2 7 1
W: Castillo (2-1) L: Lauer (2-3) S: Iglesias (4)
FanGraphs Win Probability | Box Score

The Good
–Luis Castillo pitched six strong innings, allowing just one run on four hits and a walk, striking out nine. He was a bit shaky early, which permitted the pitch count to creep up, but still finished with a dazzling pitching line. This kid is an ace, full stop.

–Eugenio Suarez doubled, walked, and scored a run. My favorite moment of the evening was when Geno struck out swinging in the seventh, though. After the third strike, Suarez turned and sprinted back to the Reds dugout on the third base side. I dunno, maybe you had to be there, but it was low-key hilarious.

–Jesse Winker. Winker is good.

–Raisel Iglesias entered in the ninth, the third consecutive night he’s pitched (it’s the first time he’s done that this season). He promptly struck out the side…which is the third straight night he’s done that. Yep, it’s safe to say that the old Raisel Iglesias is back.

–Matt Kemp walked for the first time since last September 4! Will wonders never cease?

The Bad
–Kemp and Yasiel Puig went 0-6. You’d think they’d be more comfortable hitting on the west coast, but things aren’t getting much better.

–Robert Stephenson’s line wasn’t great, as he gave up a leadoff triple and a walk before being removed with two outs, but he wasn’t completely awful. The triple should have been a double — see my discourse on Kemp’s defense below — and the runner only scored when Amir Garrett allowed a hit later in the inning. So what I’m saying is this: it was Bob Steve’s worst outing of the year, but I’m still pretty encouraged by what I’m seeing from the former #1 draft pick.

The Recap
–There was plenty of sturm und drang pre-game about Davis Bell’s latest silly lineup shenanigans. Specifically, Jose Peraza leading off and Jose Iglesias hitting fifth, along with Joey Votto being on the bench again in favor of Kyle Farmer. Votto is dealing with back stiffness, so that one is understandable. Peraza and Iglesias…well, that’s why I will always love baseball.

Obviously, Peraza is not the strongest choice as a leadoff hitter. So, of course, he began the game by snapping his 0-for-24 streak with a bloop single. Peraza’s reaction on first base after getting that hit was adorable.

Obviously, Iglesias — a career .269/.314/.363 hitter — is not the strongest choice to hit fifth in the lineup. As you might have guessed, he drove in the night’s first run, bringing home Peraza later in the first to give the Reds a 1-0 lead.

Baseball: ya never know.

–After the Padres tied it up in the second on an Eric Hosmer home run, the Reds took the lead again in the top of the fourth. With one out, Scott Schebler reached on an infield single. He moved to second on a Farmer single, then scored when Tucker Barnhart singled to center field.

–In the top of the fifth, the Reds added a run when Eugenio Suarez walked and the next hitter, Yasiel Puig, drove him home with a sacrifice fly. (In between, there was a two-base throwing error by San Diego pitcher Eric Lauer.)

–Cincinnati scored their final run of the evening in the seventh, when pinch-hitter Jesse Winker homered, his sixth of the season (and the first one that wasn’t hit to the opposite field, if I’m not mistaken). Jesse Winker is good. Have I mentioned that?

–I don’t want to get drawn into poor analysis based on small sample size…but Matt Kemp is unequivocally* not good at baseball anymore. I mean, he’s better than I am. He’s better than everyone on my son’s middle school team (except maybe the shortstop, who is small but talented). He’s better than almost every player in the minor leagues.

But I haven’t seen a single thing from Kemp that makes me glad to see him hitting cleanup every night for the ol’ Redlegs. Last night, he couldn’t be bothered to run down the first base line. Tonight, he misplayed a ball in the corner into a triple in the bottom of the eighth. Kemp is “hitting” .190/.200/.259. I’m just tired of watching him, that’s all.

*This is not actual analysis. He’s likely still a decent fourth or fifth outfielder.

–If you add up all the pitches thrown by Amir Garrett and Jared Hughes tonight, you’d come up with the grand sum of … two. Yep.

–So far this season:

Win 1
Lose 8
Win 4
Lose 4
Win 3

Reds will go for the four-game winning streak and a sweep of the San Diego Padres tomorrow afternoon behind Tyler Mahle.

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