Cincinnati Reds: Three takeaways from the Opening Day victory

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CINCINNATI, OHIO – MARCH 28: Luis Castillo #58 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches during the first inning of the game on Opening Day between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on March 28, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images) /

The Cincinnati Reds held on to claim the victory on Opening Day against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Let’s take a look at three takeaways from the win.

The Cincinnati Reds escaped with a 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day. The game featured two home runs from unlikely sources, a dominant pitching performance from both starters, and a 12-pitch at-bat to end the game. What were the three biggest takeaways from Thursday’s victory?

David Bell got his first victory as a manager and rolled the dice on a few different occasions. Some decisions were questionable while other paid huge dividends. Bell went to right-handed veteran David Hernández late in the game and after a long battle with Corey Dickerson, Hernandez induced a ground ball to José Peraza to end the game.

The Cincinnati Reds won their first Opening Day game since 2016 when they were victorious over the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2. Let’s look back at yesterday’s game and the three biggest takeaways from the Reds 5-3 win over the Buccos.

1. Luis Castillo was dominant

Luis Castillo, to the surprise of some fans, was announced as the Opening Day starter last week. His performance during Cactus League play had some of us questioning the Reds’ decision. The 26-year-old had a 12.46 ERA during Spring Training. I think it’s safe to say that his spring performances didn’t mean a thing when he took the mound at GABP.

Castillo looked like he did back in September when he closed his 2018 season going 3-1 in 5 games with a 1.07 ERA. Castillo was dealing on Thursday afternoon. He went 5.2 innings with 8 strikeouts, 3 walks, and 1 earned run.

The Reds’ right-hander looked like the potential ace that the team is hoping he can become. Castillo’s fastball was popping at 97-plus MPH and his changeup was virtually un-hittable. If Castillo continues to pitch at this level, he’s unquestionably the best pitcher on the staff.

Cincinnati made a lot of upgrades to their starting rotation with the additions of Alex Wood, Tanner Roark, and Sonny Gray, but the Reds’ success this season is tied to Castillo and the other returning starter Anthony DeSclafani. Castillo got the team off to a nice start on Thursday.

CINCINNATI, OHIO – MARCH 28: Yasiel Puig #66 of the Cincinnati Reds warms up before going up to bat in the seventh inning on Opening Day between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on March 28, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images) /

2. Big bats silenced against Pirates pitching

Jameson Taillon made short work of the Cincinnati Reds’ best hitters. The Reds’ 1-5 hitters in the lineup were a combined 1-for-18 (.055). That won’t be the case all season and especially when Scooter Gennett returns, but it’s nice to see that the team can manufacture runs without their best bats contributing.

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Joey Votto, who was hitting in the No. 2 hole, was the only player in the top of the Reds’ lineup to get a hit. Votto crushed a double to right-center in the first inning but was stranded at second base after Yasiel Puig struck out and Eugenio Suárez popped out to second base.

Jesse Winker got off to a woeful start going 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Winker was batting leadoff and was replaced in the field by Scott Schebler late in the game when David Bell decided to bring in Michael Lorenzen to play center field.

Speaking of Schebler, he too struggled mightily in his 2019 debut. Schebler, who beat out Nick Senzel for the starting center field job, went 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts. Matt Kemp, one of the Cincinnati Reds’ offseason acquisitions, did not get an at-bat in the game.

The back half of the batting order more than made up for the lack of production, as José Peraza, José Iglesias, and Tucker Barnhart went 5-for-10 (.500) with 2 RBIs and 4 runs scored. Derek Dietrich provided the biggest pop of the afternoon with a 3-run pinch hit missile to right-center in the bottom of the seventh to give the Reds a 5-2 lead.

CINCINNATI, OHIO – MARCH 28: Raisel Iglesias #26 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches in the ninth inning on Opening Day between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on March 28, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images) /

3. The bullpen was used early and often

Luis Castillo was cruising and then allowed a looping line drive single to right field in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs. David Bell immediately turned to the normally reliable Jared Hughes to get the final out of the inning. Unfortunately, that decision didn’t pay off.

Hughes allowed two straight singles and aggressive base running combined with a poor decision from Jesse Winker gave way to a 2-1 Pittsburgh Pirates lead. Hughes finally induced a ground out to end the inning but the damage had been done.

Hughes gave way to Zach Duke who did his job. Duke got the final two outs of the seventh and helped keep the deficit to just one run. David Bell then brought in Raisel Iglesias in the top of the eighth inning after the Reds took a 5-2 lead. Iglesias, arguably the best arm in the Reds’ bullpen, was called upon to take care of heart of the Bucs’ order.

Iglesias did not have his best stuff and surrendered a home run to the first batter he faced. This was a problem for Iggy last year and hopefully it doesn’t plague him throughout the season. The ninth inning provided provided even more intrigue.

Iglesias came back out for the ninth and still looked rattled. After walking two of the first three batters, Iglesias was removed in favor of Amir Garrett. Garrett did his job and struck out left-hander Adam Frazier, but was pulled in favor of David Hernandez. Hernandez walked the first batter he faced on four pitches to load the bases, but won a 12-pitch battle against Corey Dickerson to grab the save and preserve a 5-3 victory for the Reds.

Next. Bell raises some eyebrows in first game of the season

It’s going to be interesting to see if David Bell continues to utilize the bullpen in the same manner throughout the season. The lefty-on-lefty and righty-on-righty matchups are certainly not a foreign concept, but pulling Castillo with two outs in sixth and removing Garrett with just one more out to go definitely raised some eyebrows.

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