Cincinnati Reds

Reds' Castillo makes final start of season vs. Brewers (Sep 06, 2017)

Published Sep. 7, 2017 9:34 p.m. ET

CINCINNATI -- Reds rookie right-hander Luis Castillo will take the mound for the final time this season as Cincinnati faces the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.

Castillo, who has penciled himself into the Reds' 2018 rotation, has thrown a combined 161 1/3 innings between the major leagues and Double-A this season. He threw 131 2/3 innings last year between Class A and Double-A.

"In his case, he's not only pitched really in our system in Double-A, but he's continued to pitch and get better," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "For me, he's a guy that's in our rotation."

Castillo is 2-7 with a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts for the Reds this year. He has produced quality starts in seven of his past 11 outings. Castillo has been the victim of blown saves twice, once against the Brewers. On Aug. 26, Castillo allowed one run and struck out nine over seven innings, but the Reds lost 1-0 to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Shutting down the talented right-hander after Wednesday is all part of the Reds' master plan to evaluate young arms while also keeping them on track to carry a larger workload next season.

"It's free-flowing," Price said Tuesday of the club's strategy. "Tomorrow will be it for Castillo, and Tyler (Mahle) will get a couple of more and then we'll reassess. We'll make some adjustments for the (weekend) Mets series, and those will have ramifications (next week) in St. Louis."

Cincinnati (60-79) recalled left-handers Cody Reed and Amir Garrett and right-handers Jackson Stephens and Rookie Davis from Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday.

Castillo is one of four rookies in the Reds' rotation.

He will be opposed by Brewers right-hander Matt Garza, who will make his 22nd start of the season and third against the Reds. Garza (6-8, 4.77 ERA) last started on Aug. 29, when he allowed six runs (three earned), four hits and five walks over 3 1/3 innings in a 10-2 loss to St. Louis.

Milwaukee (72-67) is 9-12 when Garza starts. He opened the season on the 10-day disabled list with a right groin strain then later spent time on the disabled list with a chest contusion and right leg strain.

In 16 career starts versus Cincinnati, Garza is 5-5 with a 4.74 ERA. He is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in two starts against the Reds this season.

Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun will look to continue his assault on the outfield fences at Great American Ball Park. Braun on Monday belted his 25th career home run at Great American. He leads all visiting players in home runs at Great American since the park opened in 2003. Second is Lance Berkman with 23, followed by Albert Pujols with 20.

Milwaukee has won nine of 15 meetings this season versus Cincinnati but has missed chances to gain ground on the Chicago Cubs after losing the first two games of this series. The Brewers still trail first-place Chicago by 3 1/2 games in the National League Central, and they are 2 1/2 games behind the Colorado Rockies in the race for the second NL wild card.

"It's going to be tough, regardless of who we play, to lose two straight," Brewers right-hander Zach Davies said after Milwaukee's 9-3 loss to Cincinnati on Tuesday. "I don't think it matters who it is right now. You find a team when they're hot, it doesn't matter what their record says."