CINCINNATI: There is a long list of disputes, games and skirmishes, large and small, that have sprinkled the rivalry of the Reds and Cardinals over the years. For the second time this season, Reds right-back Nick Castellanos became part of a page in this story.
The red 12-2’s tone defeated the Cardinals in Game 2 of their seven-game weekend on Wednesday – after falling, 5-4, in Game 1 – was soon established when Castellanos made two homers. with six RBIs through two bats in the first two innings. But it was the great slam that Castellanos reached at the bottom of the second that provoked the dispute over the excavation of Sant Lluís.
“My opinion is that he was my second homer and I drove in six,” Castellanos said. “Suddenly, there was a problem. There was no problem when [Jon] Lester absolutely cut me off. And there was no problem in the first game. But then there was a problem. “
Facing JA Happ for the second time, Castellanos crushed a 1-2 throw in the center left field to get a grand slam and a 6-1 lead. Returning to the shelter, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt requested that the referees check on Castellanos’ bat, which had been given to a child sitting in the shelter at home.
“The bat was chipped. It’s just the norm, “Shildt said.” Look, I don’t want to do that much. The boy hit a man with the chip bat, so good for him. Put two good swings on it. He wasn’t really going to say anything at first, but the bat escaped him so quickly. I didn’t want the bat to go away. I knew there was really no recourse. “
The four referees met and then approached the Reds shelter to argue with Castellanos and manager David Bell and ask for the bat to be inspected, because Shildt thought it was torn at the end of the barrel. The bat, which was recovered, was seen and returned to Castellanos before being returned to the young fan.
“[Shildt] try to do your best to give your team the best chance of winning, right? The second game made them check out a bat that lasted six runs that put them ahead, “Castellanos said.” I decided to give that dangerous piece of wood to some lucky guy who was sitting on the slide, so at the end of the day, everyone wins. “
The head of the crew, Phil Cuzzi, determined that nothing on the bat affected the outcome of the contact.
“Obviously, it caught our attention that Castellanos’ bat portion was broken, which, when we inspected it, was, ”Cuzzi said. “We just told him,‘ We’re not going to take the race. You just can’t use the bat. “It was as simple as that.”
Shildt then requested a video review to do a rule check to confirm that the referees followed the correct procedures under MLB rules 3.02 and 6.03 (a) (5).
Rule 3.02 states: “The bat must be a smooth, round stick no more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches long. The bat must be a piece of wood. massive. “
Specifically, in version 6.03 (a) (5), “a batsman shall be deemed to have used or attempted to use an illegal bat if he carries that bat in the batter’s box” – and the batsman may be called.
Castellanos said: “The home referee from the first game [John Trumpane] – In fact, in my last bat-bat – he said to me, “Hey Nick, do you see your bat on top?” I said, “Yeah, yeah, it’s okay.” He says, “Okay,” so the first game referee was aware that my bat was in that state. “
It was determined that the arbitrators could use their own discretion to allow the judgment of the house to be upheld. But Castellanos’ bat was removed from any other use for safety reasons.
“It didn’t give him any advantage,” Cuzzi said. “It’s really something more dangerous because it’s easier for that bat, if you get a ball at the end of the bat, it can break and who knows? It goes in someone’s eyes, in someone’s face. It was more of a thing. security, but it had nothing to do with the race at home. The race at home was never questioned about not counting it. “
Therefore, the grand slam counted, giving to Castellanos its number 26 of the season, a timid one of its race.
“I thought the crew handled it well,” Shildt noted.
Castellanos noted that he has been using the bat since he was initially injured during his last bat on Sunday in Miami.
“I’ve been doing it all year because I don’t want to waste just one bat,” Castellanos said. “I’ll just pick the pieces of wood that are removed until the bat is intact. Then I’m going to use it. In fact, my Opening Day homer against them missed a piece because the same thing happened in Spring Training.” .
Beating at the bottom of the first inning against Happ, Castellanos propelled a 0-1 throw into the left field seats to get a two-run homer to give Cincinnati a 2-1 lead.
“Both home runs were great, which made us go in the right direction from the start of the game,” Bell said. “Sometimes that’s a little more important than others. Tonight was one of those games.”
Three batters after the Castellanos hit, Kyle Farmer added a two-run homer against reliever Junior Fernandez to turn it into an 8-1 game. He increased the fortunes of Reds starting pitcher Sonny Gray, who started the 12-driver rally with a single game and threw five innings for the win. Gray allowed two runs and two hits on a pair of solo homers, including Tommy Edman’s to open the night, with three attacks.
By pulling out a four-game losing streak and saving the final game of the three-game series with the Cardinals, the Reds returned halfway through the game to the Padres for second place in the National League Wild League. The Cardinals and Phillies are 2 1/2 games from Cincinnati.
Castellanos is batting .392 with five homers and 12 runs this season against St. Louis. Louis. He threw a home run against them on Opening Day and was hit by a throw in the second game of the season. Later that day, April 3, he flexed over pitcher Jake Woodford after scoring on a wild pitch to provoke a bank clean-up fight. The incident led to a two-game suspension for Castellanos.
“It gives me an extra edge,” Castellanos said of the Cardinals. “Of course I’m a happy person, but at times, I’m angry for whatever reason. It’s amazing how I can block it. It puzzles me.”