Christiani enjoys successful Majors debut

CINCINNATI -- Reds reliever Nick Christiani, called up for the first time on Thursday from Triple-A Louisville, had a successful Major League debut Friday with 1 1/3 scoreless innings vs. the Brewers.

Christiani, who replaced Alfredo Simon in the eighth and inherited a runner on second base with two outs, walked his first batter, Norichika Aoki, on four pitches, but retired his final four in a row.

"I just stepped off and took a deep breath and reminded myself to do what got me here and not try to do too much," Christiani said of regrouping following the walk. "The first hitter, I was trying to throw the ball a million miles an hour. It's going to do nothing but get me into trouble."

Christiani, a New Jersey native, had his parents, sister and girlfriend in attendance at Great American Ball Park. He was given the ball from his first pitch and the one from his first strikeout as keepsakes.