Lauer’s strong outing carries Padres to win over Reds
SAN DIEGO — Rookie lefthander Eric Lauer pitched five strong innings, drove in his first run and picked off Joey Votto to tie for the most in the majors, leading the San Diego Padres to an 8-2 victory against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night.
The 22-year-old Lauer (2-3) won for the first time in five starts. He has largely struggled since making his MLB debut on April 24, but put together a nice outing and was backed by a four-run second inning against Matt Harvey (1-4). Lauer allowed one run and five hits, struck out four and walked two. He came in with a 7.67 ERA and lasted only 2 1/3 innings in his previous start, a 7-2 loss to Miami on Monday.
Lauer’s only real mistake was allowing Curt Casali’s solo homer in his first Reds at-bat with one out in the second. Casali was acquired from Tampa Bay on Thursday and was added to the 25man roster on Friday.
Votto singled with two outs in the third and was picked off by Lauer, who tied Atlanta’s Julio Teheran with five pickoffs. The Padres lead the big leagues with 11 pickoffs.
With the score tied at 1, the Padres loaded the bases with no outs against Harvey in the second, on singles by rookie Franmil Reyes and Freddy Galvis, and a walk by A.J. Ellis. Manuel Margot hit a two-run double down the right-field line. Lauer followed with a sacrifice fly for his first RBI and Travis Jankowski added an RBI single.
Harvey allowed five runs, four earned, and six hits in five innings, struck out three and walked one.
The Padres added on against the Reds’ bullpen when they opened the seventh with five straight singles. Eric Hosmer drove in one run and Matt Szczur had a two-run base hit.
Padres left-hander Jose Castillo struck out the side in the eighth in his major league debut. The 22-yearold Castillo was acquired along with Wil Myers from Tampa Bay in a three-team, 11-player trade on Dec. 18, 2014.