PHILADELPHIA -- The way Luis Castillo came out firing in the first two innings on Saturday, it appeared as if he was the one who had potential no-hit stuff against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
Instead, his electrifying start -- one in which he uncorked the two fastest pitches of his career -- was ultimately overshadowed by opposing starter Matt Moore in the Reds' 6-1 loss.
Cincinnati was held without a hit for seven innings, including six no-hit frames from Moore and one from Héctor Neris, before catcher Tyler Stephenson drilled a leadoff homer off Philadelphia reliever Archie Bradley to start the eighth. Tyler Naquin dropped down a bunt single later in the inning and Kyle Farmer added an infield single in the ninth, but those were the only three hits the Reds would muster against a quartet of Phillies pitchers.
"I've never been on that side of a no-hitter before,” Stephenson said, “so I don't plan on being on that side at all.”
The Reds’ only offensive production came well after Castillo had blown a 100.7 mph sinker -- the fastest pitch of his career -- past J.T. Realmuto in the first inning for the first of the right-hander’s eight strikeouts on the afternoon.
"After the strikeout, I kind of just walked back and looked at [Eugenio] Suárez and he gave me the ball there, and I looked at the scoreboard and saw 101,” Castillo said via a translator. “I was like, 'Dang, I got potential today.'”
Stephenson, though, didn’t need the radar gun to know Castillo’s fastball was hitting his mitt with a little extra pop.
"He was exceptional today. I could tell, after his first inning … I came in and I was talking to somebody, and I was like, 'Man, he's throwing hard,'” Stephenson said. “Then, I check on our iPad and see it was a 101 mph pitch, and I was just like [whistles].”
Castillo hit 100.7 mph again in the second on a pitch that Brad Miller fouled off. Castillo had never thrown a pitch faster than 100.3 mph prior to Saturday. Overall, he threw 12 pitches against the Phillies that flashed triple digits on the stadium scoreboard. His sinker averaged 98.6 mph, tied for the fastest in any of his 115 career starts.
“When you’re facing a competitive team like the Phillies are, who are still in the hunt as we are, you have all this emotion going on in your brain and the adrenaline is pumping,” Castillo said. “You know you have to work even harder so you can put out the best of your abilities. Right there was just pure adrenaline to get up that high.”
Castillo nearly matched Moore's effort for much of the day, allowing just one hit of his own through five stellar innings. Unfortunately for Castillo, that one hit was a solo homer by Ronald Torreyes in the third inning. Castillo ran into more trouble in the sixth and seventh, ultimately allowing three runs over 6 2/3 innings before the bullpen conceded three more in the eighth.
Though Castillo’s teammates were still searching for a hit when he departed in the bottom of the seventh, that wasn’t something that he let impact his own approach on the mound.
“I’m just focused on what I have to do. I just try to support my team as best as I can,” Castillo said. “I mean, I’ve always wanted to throw a no-hitter. That’s something I’ve always wanted to do in my career, but I’m just trying to do my work and give an opportunity for the team to win.”
With the stuff he had on Saturday, checking that no-hitter box may not be out of the question in the future.
“That could’ve been the outcome today,” Reds manager David Bell said. “You have to give the Phillies credit there to be able to battle and get a couple off him, because that easily could’ve been no runs, for sure, the way he was pitching with the stuff he had and the confidence he was pitching with. It was all there today.”