GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Reds pitching prospect and rotation candidate Cody Reed's first Spring Training start could not have gone much better. Reed dispatched the Angels with three scoreless innings with two hits and one strikeout during the Reds' 8-5 victory.
Not mentioned in the pitching line were three Angels broken bats, with two of them coming on hits. Daniel Nava cracked his bat on a leadoff single to left field in the second inning and Nick Buss busted his bat on a blooped single to center field in the third.
"I came to the dugout and Tucker [Barnhart, the catcher] laughs at me and said, 'If those are the hits you give up, it's perfectly fine,'" Reed said. "It was a good atmosphere out there. I felt good. My fastball was working. I got ahead."
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It was Reed's second spring game. During a relief appearance Wednesday vs. the Indians, he allowed two runs (one earned) with two hits and two strikeouts.
"This time I got to go through my daily routine and come out and start," Reed said. "I felt good in the 'pen and felt good coming out. The nerves were there but once you get on the mound, you know you're out there for a reason so you've got to get outs as quick as you can."

In his previous game, Reed followed fellow rotation candidate and prospect Robert Stephenson. On Monday, Stephenson pitched two scoreless innings with one hit and two strikeouts in a "B" game at the Indians' complex. Reed and Stephenson are competing for one of three vacancies in the Reds' rotation, along with Michael Lorenzen, Jon Moscot, Brandon Finnegan, Tim Melville and Jonathan Sanchez.
Ranked the Reds' No. 3 prospect by MLBPipeline.com, Reed isn't just trying to make the Reds rotation out of Spring Training, the left-hander is doing it while experiencing his first big league camp and with a new organization. He was one of three prospects acquired from the Royals in the July 26 trade for Johnny Cueto.
"I try not to think about stuff like that," Reed said. "Coming into camp, I tried to come here in the best shape and best arm strength I can in the offseason and felt pretty good about it. I'm just coming here and doing what I can do. I can't tell them, 'Put me on the team.' I have to show myself."