Reds' Travieso deals in Fall League action

PEORIA, Ariz. -- After his first two scheduled starts were rained out, Reds prospect Nick Travieso finally took to the mound and didn't disappoint.

"If I didn't pitch today I was thinking I may not ever get to pitch out here because something was telling me they didn't want me to pitch, but [I] woke up this morning feeling good, looked at the radar and it looked good," the right-hander said. "Once I got out there, I got in a groove and it felt pretty amazing."

The Reds' No. 6 prospect made the most of his long-awaited Arizona Fall League debut as he threw three hitless, scoreless innings as the Peoria Javelinas snapped a three-game losing streak and beat the Mesa Solar Sox, 5-3, on Wednesday afternoon.

Although Travieso left with a lead, the game was decided long after he left as Mariners prospect Tyler O'Neill hit a two-run walk-off homer to seal the deal.

Travieso struck out the first batter he faced and the rest of his outing was more of the same as he walked one, struck out four and retired nine of 10 batters he faced.

"Outstanding," pitching coach Derrin Ebert said. "That's typical Travieso for you. He's a real aggressive kid, kind of like a bulldog out there. He just tried to pound the zone and stay real simple. He's just here to try to get the curveball and change-up more mixed in, he threw a couple of each today, but went after them, got ahead of most of the hitters he faced and had some success."

As Ebert said, Travieso was attacking the strike zone and had total command.

The former first-round Draft pick admitted that he wasn't completely settled in right away, but his nerves were not apparent as he threw 16 of 24 pitches for strikes and his fastball ranged between 93 and 96 MPH.

"I felt good, first time I've faced hitters in about two weeks, so it felt really good to get out there," Travieso said. "A little jittery at first, first time throwing with the pitch clock, but after that first I really settled down and started throwing my pitches down in the zone."

While Travieso was putting up zeros, the Javelinas' offense gave him some support in the form of a three-run third.

Orioles No. 25 prospect Adrian Marin began the scoring with an RBI hit up the middle while a pair of Mariners prospects -- Tyler Smith and D.J. Peterson -- followed up with run-scoring singles of their own.

Now pitching with a lead, the rest of the Javelinas' pitching staff followed Travieso's lead.

After the starter left, the next three relievers combined for three shutout innings of their own.

But one player they couldn't retire was Cubs No. 10 prospect Willson Contreras who finished 3-for-4 with a two-run homer that tied the game in the eighth.

"He's just a really good hitter, and when you make mistakes, leave balls up he's going to take advantage of it -- and that's what he did," Ebert said. "I don't care if you throw 100 or you throw 80, you've got to be able to locate your pitches down in the zone or good hitters will hit your mistakes."