Behind a pristine performance by Luis Castillo, another epic episode, the Reds hung on tenaciously to hang a 7-6 10-inning defeat on the all-powerful Yankees on Thursday night in Yankee Stadium.
The Reds took two of three from the Yankees and all three games were one-run games and two went 10 innings.
The Reds scored three runs in the top of the 10th to break a 4-4 tie and needed all three. Reiver Sanmartin gave up a two-run home run in the bottom of the 10th to Matt Carpenter.
And the Yankees had two runners on base when Dauri Moreta retired D.J. LeMahieu on a line drive to center field to end it.
It was that kind of night … great starting pitching for the Reds and shoulder-shuddering relief pitching.
Despite a bullpen blow-up that robbed Castillo of a victory, the Reds scored three runs in the 10th on back-to-back run-scoring doubles by Joey Votto and Tyler Stephenson and a run-scoring single by Donovan Solano.
Castillo muzzled the Bronx Bombers on one run and two hits over seven innings.
Over his last 27 innings, four starts, Castillo has given up three earned runs. If he is auditioning for a rumored trade, interested teams should be lining up to make bonafide offers.
Castillo locked up with Yankee starter Nasty Nestor Cortes (7-3, 2,63) for seven innings, a virtual 1-1 stalemate.
The Reds scored three runs in the eighth to take a 4-1 lead, but the bullpen gave up three to the Yankees in the bottom of the eighth to tie it and send it into extra innings.
For five innings, Castillo was untouchable as the Yankees swung ineffectively at his high-rise fastballs.
Only three Yankees reached base, a pair of walks to D.J. LeMahieu and hit batsman Carpenter.
The no-hitter and shutout disappeared in the sixth with a run scoring on another of the fast-mounting defensive lapses by second baseman Jonathan India.
With one out, Castillo walked Aaron Judge on four pitches and Anthony Rizzo ended the no-hitter by pulling a double into the right field corner. That put runners on third and second with one out.
The Reds deployed a pulled-in infield on Giancarlo Stanton. It appeared to work when Stanton hit a grounder right at India. If he fielded it cleanly, Judge would be out at home.
India, though, kicked the grounder. Although he recovered enough to throw Stanton out at first, Judge scored to tie it, 1-1
The Reds scored in the fifth with the help of Cortes. Nick Senzel singled with one out, then Cortes walked Stuart Fairchild and hit India with a pitch.
That filled the bases with one out, but the Reds scored only one run on Brandon Drury’s sacrifice fly.
The Yankees threatened to break the 1-1 tie in the seventh. With two outs, Jose Trevino singled and stole second. Marwin Gonzalez drew a 13-pitch walk. Castillo went to 3-and-2 on LeMahieu and struck him out, Castillo’s eighth strikeout on his 114th pitch.
Both Cortes and Castillo were done after seven innings, and it became a bullpen battle at 1-1.
New York’s Jonathan Loaisiga, fresh off the injured list, was the first to face a challenge. He failed miserably as the Reds pushed across three runs for a 4-1 lead.
India and Drury hit back-to-back softly hit singles to open the eighth, putting runners on second and first with no outs. Pham forced Drury at second, moving India to third for the first out. On a 2-and-2 count, Votto golfed a run-scoring single to left to give the Reds a 2-1 lead.
After Stephenson moved both runners up a base on a ground ball to the mound, Kyle Farmer broke it open with a two-run single to right field.
Now the challenge was put on Reds relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman and he, too, failed miserably. He, too, gave up three runs in the eighth to re-tie it, 4-4.
Judge, hitless the entire series, crushed a leadoff home run to center field, his MLB-leading 31st. With two outs, Hoffman walked Carpenter on four pitches and Gleyber Torres left the yard with a two-run, game-tying home run.
Hoffman then walked Joey Gallo, 4 for his last 49, and manager David Bell replaced him with Hunter Strickland. Gallo stole second and Strickland walked Jose Trevino. And then he hit pinch-hitter Josh Donaldson with a pitch, filling the bases.
He finally ended it by striking out LeMahieu.
Senzel was hit by a pitch to open the ninth and took second on a wild pitch. But pinch-hitter Tyler Naquin struck out, India struck out and Drury rolled weakly to third base.
And the game rolled into the 10th. All three games were one-run affairs. The Reds won the first game, 4-3, with four runs in the ninth, the Yankees won the second game, 7-6, in 10 innings on a walk-off wild pitch and the Reds won game three, 7-6, in 10.
Before the series, the Yankees were 19-8 in one-run games.
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