Cody Reed needed a good start for the Cincinnati Reds.
The 23-year-old entered his start last night against the St. Louis Cardinals with an 0-6 record and a whopping 7.30 ERA in 40.1 innings.
His ninth start of his rookie campaign looked like it might be the charm. Reed did something he hadn’t done in his previous eight starts. He registered a scoreless outing.
In six innings and 100 pitches, Reed gave up just four hits and a walk while striking out four. The effort lowered his ERA by almost a run to 6.36 on the season.
The performance was Reed’s best of the season. It marked just the third time that Reed had lasted at least six full innings. In one of those other starts, Reed didn’t give up any earned runs but his defense allowed two unearned runs.
Reed’s longest outing of the year was his debut. He lasted seven innings but surrendered four runs.
This latest start by Reed provides a new beginning for him to right the rest of this season. The Reds are likely to let Reed finish out the year in the rotation.
Reed has thrown a total of 111.1 innings this year including minor league innings. Last year, he threw a total of 145.2 innings. If the Reds do decide to limit Reed’s innings this year, he should still be able to make at least nine more starts to reach a threshold of 175 total innings.
The Reds have a lot riding on Reed in the future. He has the talent to be a front-end of the rotation starter. Now, he just has to prove he has the mindset to reach his potential.
The remaining two months of another wasted Reds’ season will give Reed every opportunity to prove he belongs for good.
If all goes well for Reed, the outlook for the Reds next year starts to look a whole lot better.
Robb Hoff writes about the Cincinnati Reds for OutsidePitch MLB. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
The post Cody Reed salvages promise with decent start for Cincinnati Reds appeared first on OutsidePitchMLB.