Luis Castillo, Joey Votto lead Reds over Marlins
Joey Votto's three-run homer highlighted a four-run fourth and Luis Castillo allowed just one run over seven innings Thursday as the host Cincinnati Reds beat the Miami Marlins 6-1.
Jonathan India went 2-for-3 with an RBI double while Nick Castellanos and Kyle Farmer added two hits apiece for the Reds, who snapped a brief two-game skid to get back to .500 (2-2) on their seven-game homestand.
Castillo (7-12) scattered eight hits over his seven innings, striking out seven and walking just one in snapping his personal two-game losing streak.
Right-hander Nick Neidert (1-2) allowed four runs and five hits over five innings for the Marlins, who fell to 21-41 on the road and lost their fourth straight after a four-game win streak.
The Marlins mounted a threat in the second inning when Jesus Sanchez doubled to open the inning and Jorge Alfaro singled him to third with one out. But the rally ended when Alex Jackson shattered his bat on a soft liner back to Castillo, who then doubled off Alfaro at first to end the inning.
The Marlins broke through in the fourth when they started a rally with two outs and none on as Castillo suddenly lost his command. Sanchez singled to right, Brian Anderson walked on four pitches and Alfaro singled to right to score Sanchez and give the Marlins a 1-0 lead.
The Reds responded immediately in the bottom half of the inning. India led off with a sharp single to center. Following a pop-out by Tyler Naquin, Nick Castellano singled, bringing up Votto. The Reds slugger drilled a Neidert fastball 428 feet to right-center for his 27th homer and a 3-1 lead.
In scoring on the homer, Votto reached another Reds milestone, tying Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench for third in runs scored (1,091) in franchise history.
Kyle Farmer's double down the right field line scored Tyler Stephenson to extend Cincinnati's lead to 4-1 later in the inning.
India added an RBI double and Castellanos chipped in with a run-scoring single in the seventh to expand the lead to 6-1.
--Field Level Media