Press Clippings August 28, 2017 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1967-Johnny Bench makes his major league debut at 19-years-old and goes hitless in three trips to the plate. Bench will go on to collect 2048 hits in his 17 seasons as a Red MLB.COM Batter(y) up: Mahle, Wallach make MLB debuts , break into bigs after working together in Triple-A By Andy Call / Special to MLB.com | August 27th, 2017 + 1 COMMENT

CINCINNATI -- In a situation where pretty much any athlete would be nervous, was surprised to find himself nervous.

"In [the clubhouse] before the game, I was a little nervous," Mahle said. "It was a little weird."

Mahle made his Major League debut Sunday, a mixed bag of pitching results during a 5-2 Reds' loss to Pittsburgh at Great American Ball Park.

The 22-year-old right-hander allowed three earned runs on four hits over five innings. He left after 92 pitches and with the Reds trailing, 3-1.

"I liked how he came after their lineup," Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said. "I was pleased by what I saw. Anybody who thinks a kid can come up and throw a complete-game shutout … well that would be a rarity."

Reds catcher Chad Wallach, also making his Major League debut, was Mahle's batterymate Sunday.

"He was calm, not too jacked up," Wallach said. "The most emotion I've ever seen out of him is a glove pat after a big out."

Mahle retired six of the first seven batters. He worked out of trouble in the third inning when third baseman Scooter Gennett, known as "Ryan" for Players Weekend, triggered an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play with runners at the corners.

Things did not end as well in the fourth.

Mahle walked Josh Bell ("JB") and hit Josh Harrison ("J-Hay") with a pitch. John Jaso ("Easy J") belted a red-hot grounder that skipped past the bag at first base, then smacked off the barrier in front of the stands and back into right field. By the time Scott Schebler ("Scheb") was able to chase it down, both runners had scored and Pittsbugh had taken a 2-1 lead.

When Mahle walked the next batter, Sean Rodriguez ("Chich"), on four pitches, he received a visit to the mound from pitching Mack Jenkins. Mahle retired the next two batters, stranding two.

"[Jenkins] just tried to calm me down," Mahle said, "Especially with my fastball, I was a little wild. I needed to slow everything down."

The Pirates added a run off Mahle in the fifth to make it 3-1. Starling Marte ("Tato") led off with a single to right, was sacrificed to second, and scored when Andrew McCutchen ("Cutch") steered a base hit into center field.

Reds fans were particularly excited about Mahle's callup because of the degree to which he had dominated Minor League hitters this summer. He compiled a 1.59 ERA in 14 starts at Double-A Pensacola (including a perfect game April 22) and a 2.73 ERA in 10 starts at Triple-A Louisville. He is rated the organization's No 4 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com.

Mahle is scheduled for another start against the Pirates, this time at Pittsburgh on Saturday. He hopes to make some adjustments between now and then.

"If you can pinpoint [the adjustments that need to be made], you can have a really successful career," Mahle said.

Andy Call is a contributor to MLB.com based in Cincinnati. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League or its clubs.

Reds fall in finale despite Mahle's strong debut By Adam Berry and Andy Call / MLB.com | August 27th, 2017 + 115 COMMENTS

CINCINNATI -- With (aka "Tokki 2 for Players Weekend) almost single-handedly leading Jameson Taillon ("J-Mo") to an early exit, the Pirates' bullpen and lineup picked up the slack in the Bucs' 5-2 win over the Reds on Sunday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.

Pittsburgh's bullpen did the heavy lifting and allowed only one hit over five scoreless innings in relief of Taillon. A.J. Schugel ("Schug") picked up two innings, then Daniel Hudson ("Huddy") and Juan Nicasio ("Arenoso") formed the bridge to closer Felipe Rivero. The Reds loaded the bases in the ninth, bringing Adam Duvall ("Duvy") to the plate as the winning run, but Rivero ("Nightmare") slammed the door as the Pirates sealed their first series victory over the Reds since September 2016.

"I thought the bullpen was pretty clean. Good effort from everybody that came in," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Schugel gave us a nice stop, then everybody finished it off."

Taillon threw 108 pitches and didn't record an out in the fifth, largely because Votto walked three times and saw 31 pitches in his first three plate appearances on his way to a club-record-tying five walks. Votto saw 43 of the 177 pitches the Pirates threw Sunday.

"Future Hall-of-Famer doing his thing," Taillon said. " He wore me out. … He's special. The guy's a once-in-a-generation kind of guy."

The Reds' all-rookie battery held its own. Right-hander Tyler Mahle allowed four hits and four walks while striking out five over five innings in his first Major League start, pitching to catcher Chad Wallach, who also made his big league debut.

The Pirates' last two victories came on unlikely home runs: Josh Harrison's Wednesday walk-off to break up 's no-hitter and Gerrit Cole's solo shot Saturday night. They found a more conventional way to get it done Sunday.

John Jaso ("Easy J") delivered the biggest hit against Mahle, a two-run double to right field in the fourth inning, and Andrew McCutchen ("Cutch") tacked on an RBI single in the fifth. The Pirates padded their lead in the ninth inning with three consecutive hits off right-hander Raisel Iglesias ("El Ciclon"). Elias Diaz ("El Maracucho") singled to right, pinch-hitter David Freese ("Davehuman") doubled to center, and both scored on a line drive from Starling Marte "Tato"), who finished 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs.

"It was a day we had to grind it out. Their young starter did a nice job," Hurdle said. "Then when you get to the other side of their bullpen, they've shown the ability to do some things. … Everybody just kept fighting."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Great escape: After a single, an infield hit that bounced off Josh Harrison's glove and one of Votto's three walks, Taillon found himself facing a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the third inning. He calmly navigated the tight spot by striking out Duvall, getting Scooter Gennett ("Ryan") to pop out and inducing a lazy fly ball from Jose Peraza ("Miguel Angel"). The high-traffic inning required 26 pitches from Taillon, but he escaped unscathed.

"He showed extreme fortitude in the third inning," Hurdle said. "That inning gets away from him, I don't know where the game goes. Shut them down in that inning. However, it was a long day and a hard day."

You won't like him when he's angry: McCutchen showed a rare outburst of anger in the fourth inning toward home-plate Jeff Kellogg during an at-bat against Mahle. McCutchen said he felt Mahle was working too quickly, especially when he delivered a pitch up and in on McCutchen, so he wanted more time to get set up in the batter's box. He asked for a timeout on three different pitches, he said, and was granted time on just one.

After grounding out, McCutchen was restrained and escorted into the dugout by third-base coach Joey Cora. He let his bat do the talking in the fifth inning, however: With one out and Marte at second, McCutchen knocked a single to center for his first RBI in a week.

"That's what it's all about. I'm not going to let anyone get in my head. I'll make the adjustment," McCutchen said. "I think you were able to see I didn't leave the box [before the RBI single]. I was ready. He left me something over the plate I was able to hit and get an RBI. If that's the way the game's going to be played, that's the way I'm going to play it. I was able to be victorious for one at-bat. … If I'm not going to get time out, I've got to make the adjustment. I made the adjustment."

QUOTABLE

"I wanted to be ready. I'm not calling time to be a [jerk]. I'm not calling time to play games -- that's what Jeff said to me. I'm here to try and be ready, to be ready that at-bat. If I'm not ready, I'm going to call time. … That's the way that went. I had to have a glass of woosah water after that, and yeah, all is well now." -- McCutchen, on his argument with Kellogg

"My dad was able to be here, which was awesome. This is what we all play for. It was a lot of fun." -- Wallach, son of former mainstay and current bench coach , on his big league debut

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Votto's five walks tied a club record he also tied in 2013. The other Reds players to have walked five times in a game are Hughie Critz and Johnny Bench.

WHAT'S NEXT

Pirates: Right-hander Trevor Williams will take the mound for the Pirates at 8:05 p.m. ET on Monday as they begin a three-game series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Williams is coming off the best start of his young career. Opposite Rich Hill's nine-inning no-hit bid, Williams tossed eight scoreless innings against the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Reds: The Reds are idle Monday, then host the for three games beginning Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. ET. Cincinnati hasn't beaten the Mets since 2014, a 14-game losing streak. Sal Romano (3-5, 4.96) will start for the Reds against Chris Flexen (3-2, 5.79). Both are 23-year-old rookie right-handers.

Adam Berry has covered the Pirates for MLB.com since 2015. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook, read his blog and listen to his podcast. Andy Call is a contributor to MLB.com based in Cincinnati who covered the Reds on Sunday. This story was not subject to the approval of or its clubs.

Reds rotation to remain fluid down the stretch By Andy Call / Special to MLB.com | August 27th, 2017 + 3 COMMENTS

CINCINNATI -- What will the Reds' rotation look like during the final month of the regular season?

It could depend on the day.

Manager Bryan Price said Sunday a six-man rotation is an option he would mull over. The Reds have already had a look at some of the best young arms in their system and may want to look at a few more during the final month of the season.

"[A six-man rotation] is something we may consider periodically in September," Price said.

The Cincinnati rotation currently consists of Homer Bailey, , Sal Romano, Robert Stephenson and Tyler Mahle, the latter of whom was promoted from Triple-A Louisville to start Sunday against Pittsburgh. Asher Wojciechowski (3-3, 6.17 ERA), who had made eight starts, was bumped from the rotation to make room for Mahle.

That's six . Tim Adleman (5-10, 5.42), bumped from the rotation earlier to make room for Wojciechowski, also made 20 starts this season.

That's seven pitchers ... but there are complications.

Castillo has worked 157 2/3 innings after throwing 131 2/3 in 2016. Mahle entered Sunday having thrown 144 1/3 innings, compared with 150 2/3 last year. Many Major League teams are reluctant to increase a young pitcher's total innings by more than 20 to 30 per season.

"We do have young guys who are going to run out of the innings, which may necessitate we add pitchers from our farm system," Price said.

The Reds gave opportunties to several youngsters, but some did not exactly seize the chance. Among those who started at least once are (3-6, 7.41), Rookie Davis (1-2, 7.58), Lisalverto Bonilla (1-3, 8.10 and currently injured), Cody Reed (1-1, 6.43) and Jackson Stephens (1-0, 5.40).

The schedule will also affect that decision. Cincinnati on Tuesday will begin a stretch of 13 consecutive games without an off-day. The Reds will then have six games followed by an off-day for the rest of the season.

Notable

To make room for Mahle, the Reds optioned RHP Luke Farrell to Triple-A Louisville and transferred RHP Scott Feldman to the 60- day disabled list. Feldman had right knee surgery and is out for the remainder of the season. Farrell made one appearance with Cincinnati, throwing three scoreless innings of relief.

Mahle and catcher Chad Walllach made their Major League debuts Sunday. That had not happened in Reds history until April 6 in Philadelphia, when Davis and catcher Stuart Turner made their debuts. Before this season, the most recent occurance of the all- newcomer battery was by the 2008 (Shairon Martis and Luke Montz).

Bailey, who left Tuesday's start with irritation in the back of his right shoulder, threw a bullpen session Sunday. He is expected to throw another before returning to the rotation Wednesday against the New York Mets.

Andy Call is a contributor to MLB.com based in Cincinnati. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Romano aiming to continue upward trend By Andy Call / MLB.com | August 27th, 2017 + 4 COMMENTS

Two teams showcasing young pitchers will trot out a pair of 23-year-old rookies when the Reds host the Mets on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds will start Sal Romano (3-5, 4.96), while the Mets will counter with Chris Flexen (3-2, 5.79).

Romano moved into the Reds' rotation after the All-Star break. The results have been mixed, but there is no doubt his two recent starts show an upward trend -- Aug. 18 at Atlanta (7 IP, 1 ER) and Thursday against the Cubs (7 IP, 2 ER).

In six of his starts, Romano has allowed two or fewer earned runs for a 2.27 ERA. In the other four, he has allowed 21 earned runs in 21 innings.

Flexen beat Arizona, 4-2, in his most recent start, recovering from a shaky first inning that required 30 pitches to navigate. He was able to wriggle out of trouble and work through the sixth. He has allowed four runs or fewer in four consecutive starts.

Flexen was promoted from Double-A Binghamton as an injury replacement for Zack Wheeler. He is the first Mets pitcher to be promoted from Double-A to the Major Leagues since Mike Pelfrey in 2006 (reliever Akeel Morris was called up from for one relief appearance in 2015).

Three things to know about this game

• None of the active hitters on the Mets or Reds have a career at-bat against Tuesday's starters.

• Romano will attempt to become the first Cincinnati pitcher this season to work seven innings in three consecutive appearances.

• The Mets have won 19 of their last 21 games against the Reds, including 14 consecutive victories since September 2014.

Andy Call is a contributor to MLB.com based in Cincinnati. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Hunter Greene makes his pro pitching debut in Billings C. Trent Rosecrans, [email protected] Published 11:05 p.m. ET Aug. 27, 2017

The first pitch of Hunter Greene’s professional career was a 98-mph fastball that was taken for a strike.

Greene, the No. 2 overall pick in June’s draft, finally made his pitching debut on Sunday in Billings, Mont., throwing 15 pitches in one inning of work. The 18-year-old hadn’t pitched in a competitive game since April when the consensus top player in the draft shut down his pitching only to play offensively.

The Reds took it easy with Greene, whose negotiations for his $7.23-million contract went down to the final minute before the signing deadline. Greene reported to Billings, where he first appeared in seven games as a designated hitter before taking the mound.

Because he hadn’t pitched for so long, he had to get his arm back in pitching shape and will make at least two more starts for the Rookie-level before the season ends on Sept. 9.

Greene pitched just one inning, allowing a hit with a and a pickoff. He threw 15 pitches, 12 for strikes.

The sixth pitch, according to Billings Gazette, registered 100 mph on the scoreboard. He gave up a single to that first batter, Kenny Corey, on a grounder through the infield into right field. After a fielder’s choice, he picked off a runner and then struck out the third batter, KJ Harrison, looking to end the inning and his night.

“It felt really good,” Greene told the Billings Gazette afterward. “Just going out there and competing like I usually do, just having a lot of fun and a great team behind me … just having the fans, too, behind me and just having great people in general ready to watch a good game of baseball is really awesome.”

Tyler Mahle steady despite wildness in MLB debut Zach Buchanan, [email protected] Published 5:58 p.m. ET Aug. 27, 2017

Chad Wallach has been a teammate of Tyler Mahle’s for each of the past two seasons as the two have worked their way through the Cincinnati Reds minor-league system. Wallach has caught enough of the right-hander’s starts to have comprehensive feel for his counterpart's personality.

Catching the 22-year-old Mahle can be like catching a block of wood. Wallach doesn't have to worry much about keeping the right- hander even-keeled. In fact, Wallach has a hard time remembering times when he’s ever seen Mahle emote at all.

“The most I’ve ever seen is after he gets a big out, he’ll give a glove-pat or something like that,” Wallach said. “That’s just him. He’s very low-key.”

The pair made their big-league debuts Sunday against the , and for once there were some hints of nervousness. But they were just hints, identifiable only to those who are familiar with Mahle's stellar recent track record.

After excelling as a strike-thrower at the top two minor-league levels this year, the right-hander was wild, at least by his pwn standards. He walked four and hit a batter, giving up three runs in five innings in a 5-2 loss at Great American Ball Park.

Mahle copped to having butterflies before the game, although he said they’d fluttered away once he started warming up. But when the game began, he could tell he was working too quickly. His the mechanics of his delivery slipped a gear, causing him to elevate his fastball.

“I do like to work fast, but I found myself just leaking out forward,” Mahle said. “I was dropping my elbow.”

For many rookies, getting a little too worked up can lead to a disastrous big-league debut. The Reds have withstood several of that nature from their young pitchers the last few years.

Mahle may have entered the game with 2.06 ERA in the minors this year and plenty of hype as one of the team's top pitching prospect, but when it comes to his first taste of the majors the Reds will settle happily for solid.

“Anybody that thinks a young kid is going to come up and throw a complete-game shutout – it’s going to happen from time to time, but that would be the rarity,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “He’s fared a lot better than many in his debut.”

There were plenty of flashes on which to hang hope. Mahle struck out three of his first seven batters, and threw only seven balls through his first 32 pitches. Twenty-three percent of his pitches went for whiffs or called strikes.

It was his uncharacteristic control issues kept his credible outing from being a terrific one. Mahle walked only 1.9 batters per nine innings in the minors before his call-up, but his command trouble came back to bite him Sunday. A walk and hit batter both came around to score in the fourth to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead. Another walk that inning made things more stressful, although Mahle escaped the jam.

He gave up another run on two singles in the fifth, and was pulled after that inning at 92 pitches. He struck out five. In most games, his effort would have been enough to help the Reds to a win.

“It’s good to see some of the swings that guys took and see that I was able to pound the zone early,” he said. “I’m seeing that it’s the same game.”

Reds recap: Tyler Mahle takes loss in MLB debut Zach Buchanan, [email protected] Published 4:37 p.m. ET Aug. 27, 2017

The Cincinnati Reds couldn’t manage much of an offensive showing to support call-up Tyler Mahle, falling 5-2 to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday at Great American Ball Park. Here are the main storylines.

The Reds made a late push. After top Cincinnati reliever Raisel Iglesias gave up two runs in the top of the ninth to put a comeback further out of reach, the Reds offense made things interesting in the bottom of the inning. Patrick Kivlehan scored a one-out, pinch- hit single and then moved up on a groundout.

Zack Cozart then reached on a two-out error on a ball hit to short. Joey Votto then drew his fifth walk of the game to load the bases, and then was replaced at first by a speedier runner in Phillip Ervin.

That brought up Adam Duvall, who has entered a significant slump in August. Duvall had gone 0 for 4 to that point with a lineout, flyout and two , and he grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game.

Making his big-league debut, Tyler Mahle had to work for his outs. The 22-year-old right-hander had been the organization’s best pitcher in the minors all year, and entered the game with a reputation for throwing strikes. Early on, he lived up to it, throwing just eight balls over his first seven hitters, four of them on a walk.

But things didn’t go as smoothly after that. Mahle walked his first batter of the third and was able to leave a runner on third thanks to a 5-4-3 double play. He gave up two runs in the fourth after a walk, hit batter, a double and another walk. Two singles in the fifth gave the Pirates a 3-1 lead.

That was Mahle’s final inning. He entered the dugout for good at 92 pitches, having allowed four hits and four walks. He struck out five, and collected his first career hit at the plate on an infield knock to short.

Joey Votto gave Jameson Taillon a hard time. The young Pirates right-hander didn’t encounter much resistance from a usually productive Reds lineup, except whenever Joey Votto stepped into the batter’s box. Votto drew three walks against Taillon, working deep counts each time.

In their first showdown, Votto drew an 11-pitch free pass. He did the same his second time up, and on his third trip worked a walk on nine pitches. Of the 108 pitches Taillon threw Sunday, 28 percent of them were thrown to Votto.

Votto added a fourth and fifth walk in the seventh and ninth, respectively. Each came on just six pitches.

The Reds offense wilted in a big moment. Votto’s walks notwithstanding, the Reds didn’t manage much offense. In the second, Scooter Gennett doubled, moved to third on a wild pickoff throw from catcher Elias Diaz, and scored on a sacrifice fly. The Reds tallied a second run on a single, walk, wild pitch and groundout.

The biggest chance to break through came in the third. Billy Hamilton led off with a single to center, followed by a Zack Cozart infield hit to third. Votto coaxed his second walk of the day to load the bases with no outs. In 2017, the run expectancy for a no- outs, bases-loaded situation is 2.3 runs on average.

But the Reds wound up with none. Adam Duvall went down looking, continuing his August slide. Gennett popped back to the catcher, depriving the Reds of a chance to at least score a run on an out. Jose Peraza flied out to end the inning.

Bryan Price: Luis Castillo is in the 2018 rotation Zach Buchanan, [email protected] Published 10:38 p.m. ET Aug. 26, 2017

Over the last couple weeks, Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price has made it clear that the final month-plus of the season might as well be a rookie pitcher audition. If the Reds don’t know more about their 2018 rotation by the end of 2017, he said, the team is in big trouble.

“You don’t want to start handing out jobs,” Price said, “but in some respect you do.”

Veteran Homer Bailey was always grandfathered into a rotation spot next year, despite his struggles returning from a series of elbow surgeries. But after watching 24-year-old right-hander Luis Castillo strike out nine and allow just one run in seven innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, Price stated what’s become increasingly obvious.

Castillo has a big-league starting job for next year.

“Sometimes a young player will come up here and look in the major-league mirror, and it’ll shine back that there are some things they need to clean up to their game,” Price said. “Then they go back to the minor leagues and clean it up.

“In his case, he’s not only pitched really well in our system in Double-A, but he’s continued to pitch well and get better during his time in the big leagues. For me, he’s a guy that’s in our rotation.”

When that vote of confidence was relayed to the young righty after Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Pittsburgh, Castillo seemed unsurprised. After all, he owns a 3.26 ERA through 13 big-league starts, and has never allowed more than four runs in any outing. He’s turned in a quality start more than half the time.

With only a few starts left before he hits an innings limit, there’s little Castillo could do to make Price change his evaluation. Instead, the right-hander focuses on what he needs to do in order to succeed over the course of a full big-league season – improve his slider. He picked up the pitch in and on Saturday threw 29 times, getting five whiffs and four called strikes in the process.

“I know I’m going to start next year, I’m going to be in the rotation for next year,” he said via interpreter Julio Morillo. “Now it’s on me to work as hard as I can work to get that slider better.”

When that final start will come is not known. Castillo has pitched 157 2/3 innings this year between the majors and minors, topping his previous career high of 131 2/3 from last year. The Reds have said they’d like him to eclipse that previous mark by 30-35 innings, which would give him one or two more outings.

Whenever it comes means nothing to Castillo. It doesn’t matter to him whether he knows ahead of time when he’ll make his last start, or if the team tells him after he takes the mound for the final time this year.

Perhaps that’s the peace of mind gifted to a player who knows where he’ll be pitching next year.

“It’s all mental,” he said. “I don’t really care when they tell me.” WCPO - Channel 9 Fay: Scooter Gennett continues to show his breakout season is not just a fluke John Fay 7:00 AM, Aug 28, 2017

CINCINNATI -- Do you know the "Back of the Baseball Card Theory"?

It’s the baseball notion that has long been used to dismiss hot weeks, months or even half-seasons. If a .250 hitter is at .300 at the All-Star break, old-timers will remind you to look at the back of his baseball card, i.e., the 162-game schedule eventually turns hot flashes cold.

You can’t expect a player with career highs of 16 home runs and 56 RBI to jump up and be a 28-, 97-RBI guy.

But that’s exactly what Scooter Gennett is projected to do this season. Gennett set career highs last year at 16 homers and 56 RBI. Going into Thursday, he’s sitting on 22 home runs and 75 RBI in 343 at-bats. He set those career marks in 498 at-bats last year.

That’s just not supposed to happen.

“It’s unusual, and it’s sensational,” Reds manager Bryan Price said.

Gennett has done his share of sensational things. He became the first Red to hit four home runs in a game. He has tied the team record for grand slams in a season with three.

He’s also put up very good every-day numbers. He is first in home runs and second in RBI and on-base plus slugging among second basemen.

Gennett is the feel-good story of a feel-awful Reds season. He’s a guy the let go via waivers rather than pay $2.52 million this year.

It’s safe to say the Brewers weren’t the only ones who did not see this coming. Who did?

Gennett.

“I always thought I could (put up big numbers),” he said. “When you’re not in there every day, when you’re battling for spot, it’s easy to add more pressure. Sometimes things don’t work out when you are trying too hard to prove what you can do instead of going out there and playing and let things happen naturally.

“That’s all I’ve done this year.”

When you see a guy do what Gennett has done this year, you wonder why he hasn’t done it sooner. Gennett has never been a can’t- miss prospect. He’s undersized at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds. He was a 16th-round draft choice in 2009.

But he overachieved, getting to the big leagues just after his 23th birthday. He went from platooning with Rickie Weeks to becoming a solid everyday player for the Brewers, but nothing close to All-Star caliber he’s been this year.

“Sometimes the stars don’t line up for you,” he said. “You get hurt, or somebody comes in on a trade and you have to take a back seat. But I knew if I kept working hard and getting better each year that ultimately I would be in the position I am in now.

“When you work hard, when you believe something good will happen, when you are willing to put in the work that is necessary, it has to come back to you. The world has to give it back to you.”

Well, actually, it doesn’t.

But Gennett deserves all the credit here. It had to be the low point of his professional career when he arrived to the Reds. The only team he had even played for gave up on him. His role with the Reds would be limited. He had never played anywhere but second base. Now he was a utility guy.

Gennett embraced it. From the day he arrived, he fit in and he was happy for the chance he got.

“I got a fresh opportunity with the Reds,” he said. “I put myself into position with the Reds where they had to put me in there.”

Gennett was referring to the decision to play him over Jose Peraza.

Again, the Reds weren’t expecting this. Gennett is under team control for two more seasons after this, so he’s gone from late-spring pickup to second baseman of the immediate future.

“He had enough of a history to give an indication of what he’s capable of doing,” Price said. “However, he came into the season at 26 years old. So he’s certainly not to the point where you can’t expect him to improve on what he’s done in three-plus years of his career."

Gennett is among the most outgoing and friendly players in the Reds clubhouse. But you get the feeling that he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder.

“When I was growing up I always heard, ‘You’re too small, you better think about doing something else,’” he said. “But those things just fueled me to work that much harder and prove people wrong. I was hitting home runs with a wood bat in high school, so I knew I had the power to hit home runs. It was a matter of letting it happen naturally.”

People are starting to be convinced.

“The type of season he’s had is extraordinary,” Price said. “But it’s turning into the norm.” DAYTON DAILY NEWS Reds to employ 6-man pitching rotation come September? By Mark Schmetzer - Contributing Writer Posted: 6:19 p.m. Sunday, August 27, 2017

Bryan Price’s hopes of gauging the progress of young pitching prospects such as Amir Garrett and Cody Reed and Rookie Davis hinge on one key aspect – finding room in the starting rotation for them to actually pitch.

The Reds’ glut of possible starting pitchers have Price pondering the possibility of deploying a six-man rotation after active rosters are expanded on Sept. 1.

The Reds already had five slots filled with Homer Bailey, Sal Romano, Robert Stephenson, Luis Castillo and Asher Wojciechowski – all right-handers – and that was before rookie Tyler Mahle made his debut on Sunday. Davis and the left-handed Garrett and Reed have spent most of this season at Triple-A Louisville.

Price said before Sunday’s game that he’d been looking for ways to squeeze together all of the pieces of the puzzle.

“Maybe one time through the rotation or maybe periodically to get a look at some of the young guys in September,” he said. “Inevitably, Castillo and Mahle will run out of innings in September. That would necessitate two pitchers from the system going into the rotation. We don’t know exactly who that is yet. There also might be an opportunity to plug somebody in to give everybody an extra days’ rest. We have every Monday off except one, and when we don’t have Monday the 4th off, that’ll be 13 straight (games), so there would be an opportunity to plug somebody in there.”

First impression: Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle was impressed with Reds rookie right-hander Luis Castillo just based on scouting reports and videos. Seeing him live did nothing to change Hurdle’s opinion.

Castillo allowed three hits and one run with one walk while tying his career high with nine strikeouts in seven innings of Cincinnati’s 1-0 loss to the Pirates on Saturday.

“He was impressive,” Hurdle said Sunday morning. “That’s the beautiful thing about watching a kid in a game and having a dugout view versus a video. His stuff looked good on video, but it did It looked way better from the dugout. We had seen him elevate the ball with a lot more regularity, whether it was by design or not. One of our goals was to look down. He didn’t spend a lot of time up (Saturday night) The fastball was real with finish and the breaking ball was really effective and sharp. He threw some change ups a well – the rhythm the pace. He’s a good-looking pitching prospect.”

No surprise: If Louisville manager Delino DeShields and pitching coach Jeff Fassero hoped to surprise Mahle on Saturday that the Reds planned to promote him to start on Sunday, they didn’t cover all of their bases.

When Mahle arrived at the Toledo version of Fifth Third Field for his scheduled start Saturday, he noticed an unfamiliar name listed in pace of his on the lineup. Former right-hander Wendolyn Bautista had been promoted from High-A Daytona to start. Mahle immediately sought out Fassero and DeShields to clear up the confusion.

“They had to spill the beans a little early,” Mahle said after arriving at Great American Ball Park on Saturday night.

Mets next: Reds: After Monday’s off day, the New York Mets become the last National League team to visit Great American Ball Park for the first time this season when they arrive for a three-game series starting on Tuesday. Rookie right-hander Sal Romano, who’s logged a career-high seven innings in each of his last two starts, will make his 11th career appearance and start and first against New York. The Reds have not seen the Mets yet this season.

Rookie Tyler Mahle ‘poised’ in debut, but Reds fall to Pirates By Mark Schmetzer - Contributing Writer Posted: 6:09 p.m. Sunday, August 27, 2017

CINCINNATI — Sure, Tyler Mahle finished with four walks and he also hit a batter in five innings, but he never really looked nervous.

That’s because he didn’t feel nervous.

Cincinnati’s right-handed rookie made his major league debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday and, with help from pitching coach Mack Jenkins, looked fairly poised in a 5-2 loss.

“I liked that he came after their lineup,” manager Bryan Price said. “I thought he was poised. He had good command of the fastball. He got under the ball a little bit and the ball came up in the zone. Mack had a good meeting with him, and he was fine. I wasn’t disappointed in the outing. There have been some a lot worse. He never made me nervous. He was in control.”

The Pirates collected only four hits and struck out five times while scoring three runs against the 22-year-old, who pitched a perfect game at Double-A Pensacola earlier this season.

“Once I started to play catch, I was fine,” said Mahle, who also notched his first career hit. “I got a little wild. I had to slow everything down. I like to work fast, but I got a little too fast and walked a couple guys. Mack came out to slow me down a little bit and it worked.

“If you can pinpoint what you’re doing on the spot. you’ll have a successful career,” he added.

Mahle gave up a two-run double to John Jaso in the fourth inning and Andrew McCutchen’s RBI single in the fifth.

Catcher Chad Wallach, who also was making his major league debut, watched the same pitcher he’s caught several times in the minor leagues over the past couple of seasons.

“He looked good,” Wallach said. “There were a couple pitches up, but the double was a lucky hit. It kind of hugged the line.

“I’ve never seen a lot of emotion out of him,” Wallach added. “The most I’ve seen if he gets a big out, he will pat his glove a little bit, but that’s it.”

The Pirates in the ninth added two runs on three straight hits, including Starling Marte’s two-run single against closer Raisel Iglesias, who was pitching for the fourth consecutive day. Previously, he’d pitched on just two straight days in his career. He hadn’t been scored in his previous five appearances.

The Reds were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base, including three in the ninth, while slipping to 2-4 on their nine-game home stand. They have scored two runs in their last 19 innings.

“The game was sitting there for us to win and we didn’t do it,” Reds manager Bryan Price said.

Scott Schebler drove in Scooter Gennett with an unearned run set up by catcher Elias Diaz’s throwing error in the second, and Zack Cozart scored on Gennett’s groundout in the fifth.

They loaded the bases with nobody out in third inning against Jameson Taillon, who went 1-0 on Adam Duvall, prompting a visit from pitching coach Ray Searage. Taillon scrambled back to strike out Duvall looking, get Gennett to foul out to catcher Elias Diaz and coax Jose Peraza – who went into the game 8-for-10 with two doubles in his career against Taillon – into flying out to McCutchen in center field.

The Reds loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, helped by shortstop Sean Rodriguez’s throwing error on what would have been the final out of the game, but Duvall grounded into a game-ending fielder’s choice.

Duvall left five runners in scoring position.

Votto was the Reds last baserunner, drawing his fifth walk of the game to load the bases. He worked five walks for the second time in his career, tying the franchise record also held by Hughie Critz and Johnny Bench.

For the second time in franchise history, both this season, a Reds pitcher and catcher made their major league debuts as the starting battery. On Sunday, it was Mahle and Wallach, the son of former major league 3B and current Marlins bench coach Tim Wallach. On April 6, it was RHP Rookie Davis and Stuart Turner. ASSOCIATED PRESS ‘Cutch’ shakes off argument, helps Bucs to 5-2 win over Reds Today

CINCINNATI (AP) — Andrew McCutchen was angry that plate umpire Jeff Kellogg wouldn’t let him call time to get ready to hit in the fourth inning.

McCutchen didn’t need Kellogg’s help in the fifth.

The Pittsburgh center fielder snapped a 0-for-15 slump with a run-scoring single, helping the Pirates to a 5-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.

McCutchen argued with Kellogg in the third after Kellogg wouldn’t let him call time to slow down Reds pitcher Tyler Mahle.

“I thought he was quick to the plate,” McCutchen said after the game. “I asked him three times, and I got one. It’s all about safety for me. They’d buzzed me earlier. I want to be ready.”

He made sure he was ready with Starling Marte on second base and out in the fifth, singling to center field for a 3-1 Pirates lead.

“I wasn’t going to try to let anyone get in my head,” he said. “I was ready. He left one out over the plate, and I was able to get an RBI. I was able to be victorious for one at bat.”

John Jaso and Starling Marte each drove in two runs against the Central Division last-place Reds, who left 11 runners on base, including three in the ninth, while slipping to 2-4 on their nine-game home stand. They have scored two runs in their last 19 innings.

“The game was sitting there for us to win and we didn’t do it,” Reds manager Bryan Price said.

Mahle (0-1), promoted from Triple-A Louisville to start, walked four Pirates and hit another. The right-hander gave up three runs and four hits with five strikeouts.

“Once I started to play catch, I was fine,” Mahle said. “I got a little wild. I had to slow everything down. I like to work fast, but I got a little too fast and walked a couple guys.”

Marte capped a three-hit day with a two-run single in the ninth.

The Reds scored both of their runs on outs. Scott Schebler drove in Scooter Gennett with an unearned run set up by catcher Elias Diaz’s throwing error in the second, and Zack Cozart scored on Gennett’s groundout in the fifth.

Pirates starter Jameson Taillon, who allowed five walks in five innings during his last start on August 22 against Los Angeles, again had control problems. The right-hander walked four Reds while giving up five hits and two runs. Manager Clint Hurdle replaced his pitcher with A.J. Schugel with runners on first and second and nobody out in the fifth, leaving Taillon ineligible for a win.

Schugel (3-0), with the help of Diaz throwing out Schebler trying to steal second to end the sixth, faced the minimum six batters over two innings for the win. Felipe Rivero pitched the ninth for his 16th save.

DEBUT DEJA VU

For the second time in franchise history, both this season, a Reds pitcher and catcher made their major league debuts as the starting battery. On Sunday, it was Mahle and C Chad Wallach, the son of former major league 3B and current Marlins bench coach Tim Wallach. On April 6, it was RHP Rookie Davis and Stuart Turner.

CLUTCH VISIT

With the bases loaded, nobody out and a 1-0 count on cleanup hitter, Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage had an effective talk with Taillon on the mound. Duvall struck out looking, Scooter Gennett popped out foul and Jose Peraza flied out to end the threat.

WALKING MAN

Joey Votto had reached base in a season-high 29 consecutive games before going 0-for-4 on Saturday. He bounced back to walk five times on Sunday for the second time in his career, tying a franchise record.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: 2B Adam Frazier left the game in the middle of the third inning with right hamstring discomfort.

Reds: RHP Scott Feldman was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. Feldman underwent arthroscopic surgery to “clean out” his right knee on Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Pirates: Pittsburgh hopes to make it six wins in seven games at Wrigley Field this season in the first game of a three-game series on Monday. RHP Trevor will make his fifth career appearance and third start against the Cubs, all this season. He is 1-1 against Chicago.

Reds: After an off day on Monday, the Mets arrive for a three-game series. Rookie RHP Sal Romano, who’s logged a career-high seven innings in each of his last two starts, will make his 11th career appearance and start and first against New York. TRANSACTIONS 08/27/17 sent LHP Tyler Anderson on a rehab assignment to Albuquerque Isotopes. optioned RHP James Hoyt to Fresno Grizzlies. Houston Astros activated RHP Will Harris from the 10-day disabled list. sent LHP Adam Liberatore on a rehab assignment to Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. sent RHP Johnny Cueto on a rehab assignment to San Jose Giants. Los Angeles Dodgers placed RHP Josh Fields on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to August 25, 2017. Lower back strain. Los Angeles Dodgers activated RHP Yu Darvish from the 10-day disabled list. sent LHP Ian Krol on a rehab assignment to Florida Fire Frogs. optioned RHP Drew Anderson to Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Philadelphia Phillies recalled Nick Pivetta from Lehigh Valley IronPigs. St. Louis Cardinals placed 3B Jedd Gyorko on the 10-day disabled list. Right hamstring strain. St. Louis Cardinals recalled 1B Luke Voit from Memphis Redbirds. placed DH Victor Martinez on the 10-day disabled list. Irregular heartbeat. Washington Nationals recalled RHP from Syracuse Chiefs. Washington Nationals optioned RHP A.J. Cole to Syracuse Chiefs. Washington Nationals recalled Rafael Bautista from Syracuse Chiefs. Detroit Tigers recalled CF JaCoby Jones from Toledo Mud Hens. New York Mets recalled RHP Kevin McGowan from Las Vegas 51s. New York Mets optioned RHP Robert Gsellman to Las Vegas 51s. New York Mets activated RHP Seth Lugo from the 10-day disabled list. recalled RHP Joe Biagini from Buffalo Bisons. Toronto Blue Jays designated LHP TJ House for assignment. Cincinnati Reds optioned RHP Luke Farrell to . Cincinnati Reds selected the contract of RHP Tyler Mahle from Louisville Bats. Cincinnati Reds transferred RHP Scott Feldman from the 10-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list. Right knee inflammation. sent OF Lonnie Chisenhall on a rehab assignment to Akron RubberDucks.