On May 18, Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Luis Castillo struck out 11 batters in five innings against the San Francisco Giants. According to Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson, that wasn’t the game when Luis Castillo’s mid-season turnaround began.
That turnaround started 11 days later, when Castillo allowed two earned runs in five innings in a loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Entering that start, Castillo had a 7.61 ERA. Since that start on May 29, Castillo has a 1.96 ERA.
Over the past 30 days, Castillo has the fifth-lowest ERA among all qualifying pitchers in MLB.