“I would say it wasn’t one of his best,” said manager David Bell on Wednesday before Game 1, “but even when he’s not at his best, you can still see the stuff. You can see what he’s capable of. He has the ability to do that. A few starts before that, he was on a roll. That was the game after we clinched a postseason spot. There were things you could point to that maybe led to him not being sharp. The good news is he got the work in. He had enough success that night and threw a good amount of pitches. He wasn’t taxed too much. He definitely got his work in. I think it was a perfectly fine leadup to tomorrow’s start.”
Castillo (4-6, 3.21) made 12 starts in the regular season. This is his fourth season in the big leagues, and it’ll be his first postseason start.
“I want to thank God for this tremendous opportunity I have,” Castillo said. “It’s a little but large emotion that I have right now, but we’re just going to go out there and give it our best. You just have to have a positive attitude towards this. Mentally, I have to stay focused and say we’re going to advance through these games. That’s what we have to do. Each game we have to win. I just have to have a positive mentality and say we’re going to win this game.”
First lineup: Nick Senzel and Brian Goodwin split time in the starting lineup in the last two weeks with each starting six games in center field in the last 13 games. Shogo Akiyama also earned one start in center during that time.
Senzel got the nod in center in Game 1 and batted first in the order. He hit .186 in 23 games and hit .105 in his last seven games. He singled in his first two at-bats Wednesday.
“We knew Nick had a tough challenge this season, and since then, he’s gotten more and more at-bats,” Bell said. “He’s physically able and 100 percent healthy. At this point in the year, everything can be kind of erased. We get to compete in a postseason game today, and we went our best lineup out there today. Nick is part of that lineup today."
Postseason roster: The Reds announced their 28-man postseason roster before the game. They dropped pitchers Anthony DeSclafani and Sal Romano and added outfielder Travis Jankowski and infielder Matt Davidson.
Bell said the short series allowed them to carry 12 pitchers, including nine relievers, and 16 position players. Jankowski hit .067 (1-for-15) in 16 games with the Reds this season and may contribute in this series without getting an at-bat.
“He still has the ability to impact the game as a pinch runner or defender,” Bell said. “In a playoff, when you have extra spots, it’s great to be able to carry a player like that.”
Davidson hit .163 (7-for-43) in 20 games with three home runs.
“We saw him become a big part of our team early on,” Bell said. “He started to swing the bat really well. The results weren’t there in the last week or 10 days, but he continued to hit the ball hard. He has a history of being able to hit for power, particularly against left-handed pitching, so there’s a role here for Matt.”
About the Author
