Last night the Louisville Bats played 15 innings of baseball. No, it wasn’t a double header where one game went eight innings, all 15 were in the same game. Thomas Neal went 4-6 with a double, two runs batted in and two walks. Neal reached base six times but was unable to score. That’s the kind of game it was. Still, reaching base six times in a game is incredibly impressive. It’s been an up and down season for Neal after returning from offseason surgery, but he’s started off August very strong, going 7-13 with two walks over the span of three games.
Every now and again a player does something that jumps out of nowhere. Last night was one of those nights. Fabio Castillo has been with the Cincinnati Reds for less than five weeks, signing as a free agent after being released by the Orioles at the end of June. He’s tossed just 16.1 innings with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Louisville Bats this season, including a perfect inning last night for Louisville with two strikeouts. Castillo was once a big name to watch in the Texas Rangers system, particularly as a teenager where he was really standing out in their system, but as he reached the upper levels his control began to become an issue. He walked 20 batters in 28.0 innings in Double-A in the Orioles system this year before being released. He’s walked seven in 16.1 innings with the Reds thus far and posted an ERA of 1.10. Castillo has always had a good fastball, reportedly touching 97 in the past, but last night he went out and hit 99.
Fabio Castillo bring in' it. ???????????? pic.twitter.com/n8bMaRDKJY
— Louisville Bats (@LouisvilleBats) August 4, 2014
Pensacola took a loss yesterday, but Drew Hayes tossed a shutout inning with two strikeouts in the game. Hayes has put together a good run over his last 10 appearances, posting a 2.45 ERA, but he’s been even better in his last seven games where he’s had just two walks and a 2.38 ERA in 11.1 innings pitched to go along with nine strikeouts.
Another start and another seven innings for Mike Dennhardt. For the third game in a row, the right handed tossed 7.0 strong innings for Bakersfield, allowing just one run with two walks and six strikeouts. After a poor start on July 18th against Lake Elsinore, Dennhardt has run off three straight games of 7.0 innings with a combined four earned runs (1.71 ERA) against Lake Elsinore, Visalia and Rancho Cucamonga.
Following Dennhardt in the game was Jacob Johnson, who once again was strong out of the bullpen for the Blaze, tossing two shutout innings as he lowered his ERA on the season to 2.36 in 61.0 innings pitched. Since the All-Star Break he has posted a 1.88 ERA in 24.0 innings, racking up four saves.
Dayton did not have a good day on Sunday, but Tanner Rahier extended his hitting streak to six games by going 2-4 with a run. He’s hitting .348/.423/.696 during the hitting streak with a triple, two home runs, five runs scored and seven runs batted in.