# Saturday was worse. The Reds trailed 10-0 before blowing up Washington's awful bullpen in the final two innings, and pulling up short in a 10-7 loss. Rookie pitcher Luis Castillo was decent, allowing three earned runs on three hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked four.
Castillo is 1-2 with a 3.41 ERA in 29 innings with 25 hits, 14 walks and 36 strikeouts. Once again according to Statcast™, his velocity was perky as he averaged 97.9 mph with his four-seam fastball. He struck out Bryce Harper to end the first inning with 98-mph heat, as reported by MLB.com. Then, the bullpen.
Hey, at least there was some donkey fun at the ball park before hand. Got a name for Zack Cozart's soon-to-be pet? Check out Hal McCoy's stuff; there's a lot of good material in there.
# Sunday was the worst. Homer "Jekyll/Hyde" Bailey reverted to the pitcher he was in his first two starts after his lengthy rehab while going four-plus innings in a 14-4 loss in which Washington hit five home runs. Cincinnati pitchers have allowed 156 dingers this season, and the Reds are well ahead of the pace of last season, when the staff surrendered an MLB-record 258 homers. That's not a favorable metric.
# Gennett drove in three runs, as he also did Saturday, and continues to look like the best pickup the team has made in memory.
Scooter has 54 RBI....exactly 10 more than the following players
— Lance McAlister (@LanceMcAlister) July 16, 2017
Eric Thames
Miguel Cabrera
Todd Frazier
Yonder Alonso
Matt Kemp#Reds
# It was no more fun to watch the Dayton Dragons Sunday, when they fell 2-1 at Kane County. Saturday was better, as they won behind home runs by Jose Siri and Taylor Trammell.
# Elsewhere in sports, Venus Williams fell short at Wimbledon in her Saturday attempt to become the oldest woman to win the title. The ageless Roger Federer pulled it off on Sunday, though, as he went through Croatia's Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 to take his record eight Wimbledon title and 19th Grand Slam at age 35. Federer joined Bjorn Borg as the only men to ever blitz through the entire tournament at the All England Club without dropping a single set in a tournament.
Federer has had a remarkable season, winning the Australian Open and taking titles in Palm Springs and Miami over Rafael Nadal in ATP 1000 events. Despite playing a light overall schedule, he is expected to play in Cincinnati next month with the goal of stacking enough points to become No. 1 in the world by year’s end. He’ll turn 36 Aug. 8.
Roger Federer kisses the Wimbledon men's singles trophy after winning a record eighth title https://t.co/Q6hiXlu0nT pic.twitter.com/zPFTWxgcur
— CNN (@CNN) July 17, 2017
# Also coming, the Reds will be at home all week with a 12:35 home game today against the forsaken Nationals, a three-game series against the Diamondbacks and a three-game series against the Marlins. Then, they’ll go AL on the road against the Indians and Yankees.
Speaking of the Yankees, did you see Boston's Jackie Bradley Jr. rob Home Run Derby champ Aaron Judge last night? This is worth a peek.
# The Dragons have one more game at Kane County, will be off tomorrow, and then will be at home for three games against Peoria and three against Burlington.
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