Reds top Brewers to end losing skid
MILWAUKEE — Anthony DeSclafani's nickname is "Disco," based on his surname, and little else.
DeSclafani doesn't have a lot of flash, and on the mound he shows no emotion. He's steady as it goes, unassuming and, at least through three starts with the Reds, incredibly effective.
Two days after his 25th birthday, DeSclafani picked up his second victory in a Reds' uniform, allowing just two hits over eight scoreless innings in a 6-1 Reds victory.
It was a victory that his team needed, if nothing else to stop the tide of negativity following a sweep in St. Louis, and an overall four-game losing streak.
"He knew this one was a very important game for us, coming from the bullpen, he told me he was ready for this game," Reds catcher Brayan Pena said. "He really proved it."
In his previous start, DeSclafani held the Cubs to two hits over seven innings — and he managed to top that on Monday, allowing his two hits over eight innings. He also walked one fewer batter (one on Monday) than he did in Chicago and struck out five, just as he did last week.
The Brewers didn't manage a hit off of DeSclafani until Adam Lind's two-out double in the fourth and then recorded their second in the fifth when second baseman Hector Gomez singled to left.
The other hit came in the next inning, after an error put Gerardo Parra on first and second baseman Hector Gomez singled to right, bringing up pitcher Wily Peralta in a sacrifice situation.
Pena said he saw Parra heading to third when the ball was popped up, and - knowing it was foul - he could dive without worrying about the consequences. He caught it and threw on to first for an easy inning-ending double play.
Pena then got the Reds on the board the next inning after they loaded the bases. Pena was able to get a sacrifice fly off of Peralta deep enough to score the run from third, and then Zack Cozart cleared the bases with a three-run home run.
The Reds added two more runs in the seventh on Joey Votto's fifth home run of the season, making it 6-0.
DeSclafani appeared the same regardless of the score, working quickly as he mowed down the Brewers. He faced just 10 batters over his final three innings, before being replaced for pinch-hitter Skip Schumaker in the ninth. Even through eight innings, DeSclafani threw just 91 pitches before handing the game over to former Brewer Burke Badenhop, who allowed a solo homer to Ryan Braun with one out in the ninth to account for the Brewers' lone run.
"That's how you have to approach it, like it's a 0-0 ballgame all the time. You don't ever want to let off the pedal because things can turn really quick," DeSclafani said. "I just want to keep the same mentality and approach."
That's what Price says he likes his pitchers to do — "stay emotionally stable."
It's one of the things the Reds looked for when Walt Jocketty went to the Winter Meetings in San Diego looking to shed payroll and deal experienced big-name pitchers.
Jocketty moved Mat Latos to Miami in exchange for DeSclafani and catcher Chad Wallach because the Reds felt the right-hander DeSclafani had a chance to be a rotation-ready starter - not just for 2015, but beyond.
"We got great reports, we did a really good job with our pro scouting to identify him as a trade target," Price said. "We knew he had good stuff, throws strikes and he's confident. That works here."
With the win, DeSclafani improved to 2-0 and lowered his ERA to 0.86 over three starts. He's still the only Reds starter with a victory. But after dropping three in St. Louis and four straight, it didn't matter who got the W by their name.
"It was great," Price said. "Disco set the tone — he was locked in, he had great pitch quality. I'm really happy for the club, but for him, too as a young guy trying to get established in the league, he's come out and given us some really good quality."