This weekend the Cincinnati Reds had their fingerprints all over the Surprise Saguaros win over the Scottsdale Scorpions. Carson Spiers got the ball as the starting pitcher on the day and he kept doing what he’s been doing while out in the Arizona Fall League, allowing one run in 4.0 innings while not walking anyone and picking up five strikeouts. He then handed the ball over to Bryce Hubbart. The lefty also allowed one run in his 3.0 innings of work, picking up a save in the 7-inning game.
It wasn’t all pitching, though. Austin Callahan put his stamp on the win with a big 2-run home run in the 4th inning. When the inning began the game was tied up at 1-1, but Surprise grabbed a 2-1 lead earlier in the inning. With a runner on for Callahan he turned a 1-run game into a 3-run game with a shot to right field.
The home run was the first of the fall league for Callahan. After beginning the season going 1-25 in the first six games he played in, he’s gone 5-14 in the five since (he only had an at-bat in four of these games).
Carson Spiers time in Arizona has gone well. After his outing on Saturday he’s got a 3.86 ERA. That’s a run-and-a-half lower than the Arizona Fall League average ERA. Without a walk in the game he’s still sitting at one walk in his 14.0 innings. With the five strikeouts he now has 16 of those.
Bryce Hubbart has an ERA of 3.86 as well. The lefty has pitched in relief in all four of his outings and has thrown 3.0 innings in each of the last three, while throwing 2.2 in his first outing. He has struggled a bit with his consistency, walking six batters so far in the fall league to go with just nine strikeouts. He’s limited the hits against him, though, giving up just seven of them and holding batters to a .175 average.