Padres at Reds
Freddy Galvis is making the most of his opportunity with Cincinnati and he'll try to stay hot when the Reds host the San Diego Padres on Wednesday afternoon in the rubber match of their three-game series. Galvis belted a go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning to lift Cincinnati to a 3-2 victory Tuesday, helping the Reds clinch their first season series over San Diego since 2012.
Galvis is 12-for-29 with three home runs - two in the last two games - to go along with six RBIs and six runs scored in eight contests with Cincinnati after he was designated for assignment by Toronto. The Padres haven't won a road trip consisting of at least two stops since April but will have the opportunity to do so Wednesday despite their three-game winning streak coming to a halt Tuesday. The Reds' Luis Castillo takes the ball Wednesday and is coming off the worst start of his career that followed a string of three straight quality outings. "When things don't go good for you, they aren’t going to be good for you," Castillo told reporters after allowing eight runs in a 13-4 loss to St. Louis on Friday. "It was one of those nights. They just put good swings on the pitches."
TV: 12:35 p.m. ET, FS San Diego, FS Ohio (Cincinnati)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres LH Matt Strahm (5-8, 5.21 ERA) vs. Reds RH Luis Castillo (11-5, 3.10)
Strahm began the season by starting 15 games, going 3-7 with a 5.42 ERA over 79 2/3 innings, but hasn't pitched more than two frames in 14 relief appearances since. So the 27-year-old North Dakota native will likely serve as the opener with only Michael Baez unavailable to follow after he pitched two shutout innings Tuesday. Strahm is 0-1 with a 1.74 ERA and 10 strikeouts in two games (one start) over 10 1/3 innings versus Cincinnati after allowing one run in eight innings of San Diego's 3-2 loss in 11 innings to the Reds on April 19.
Castillo was 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA in his previous three starts before his rough 4 1/3 innings against the Cardinals, who belted three home runs among nine hits. The 26-year-old Dominican, who has a 1.14 WHIP and .201 batting average against, has allowed more than three runs only four times in 25 starts this season. San Diego's Hunter Renfroe is 2-for-10 with two home runs, five RBIs and five strikeouts against Castillo, who is 1-2 with a 4.15 ERA in four starts versus the Padres after yielding one run with nine strikeouts in six innings of a 4-2 victory April 20.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cincinnati RF Aristides Aquino on Tuesday went 1-for-4 with an RBI single to fall to 3-for-20 in his last six games, and hasn't gone deep in the past three contests after becoming the first player since 1900 to hit 11 home runs in his first 17 games.
2. San Diego RF Josh Naylor homered Tuesday, giving the Padres 187 this season - two shy of the club record set in 2017.
3. Reds LHP Amir Garrett on Tuesday was reinstated after serving an eight-game suspension for his part in a brawl against Pittsburgh on July 30 and walked the first two batters in the eighth inning before he was taken out.