Reds rookie Garrett wins first start against Cardinals
ST. LOUIS -- It's hard to do much better than Cincinnati Reds left-hander Amir Garrett did in his major-league debut Friday night.
Garrett checked the St. Louis Cardinals on two hits and two walks in six shutout innings, striking out four and picking up the decision in Cincinnati's 2-0 win at Busch Stadium.
The 6-foot-5 Garrett, a four-star basketball recruit out of high school who played two years at St. John's before switching to baseball, looked poised throughout his outing. Garrett threw three pitches for strikes with consistency and needed just 78 pitches to obtain his 18 outs.
Michael Lorenzen and Raisel Iglesias worked three perfect innings in relief of Garrett, with Iglesias pitching the last two for his second save as the Reds (3-1) won their third straight game.
Mike Leake (0-1) pitched well enough to win most nights, yielding only six hits and a run in eight innings with a walk and six strikeouts. But he faltered just enough in the sixth, enabling Cincinnati to get the only run it needed.
Billy Hamilton led off the sixth with a single and stole second, his 24th in 26 attempts against catcher Yadier Molina. One out later, Joey Votto laced a double down the right field line that easily scored Hamilton.
Scott Schebler added ninth-inning insurance with a two-out homer to left center for the Reds, handing the Cardinals (1-3) their third straight defeat.
Pitching ruled the first part of this game as Leake and Garrett quickly disposed of their hitters.
Coming off the worst season of his career, Leake sailed through the first five innings, scattering four hits and fanning six.
The Reds got runners to first and third in the fifth, but Garrett missed on a squeeze bunt and Molina picked Zack Cozart off with a bullet throw that caught him five feet off the bag.
Garrett mostly pitched to contact but gave up only two hits in five innings and struck out four. No one made it into scoring position.
NOTES: Cincinnati OF Tyler Goeddel, who was claimed off waivers from Philadelphia Wednesday, cleared waivers Friday and was assigned to Triple-A Louisville. ... St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said Friday that RHP Trevor Rosenthal (right lat strain), who was scheduled to throw another bullpen session this weekend, might instead throw a simulated game on Saturday and then rejoin the team on its upcoming road trip. ... The Reds announced that RHP Bronson Arroyo will make the start Saturday in the middle game of the weekend series against Cardinals RHP Michael Wacha.