MIAMI _ The Miami Marlins know Cincinnati Reds pitcher Luis Castillo quite well. He was a top prospect in the Marlins' organization for two years before the team traded him _ twice.
He had also been pretty good in three career starts against the Marlins since making his MLB debut with the Reds in 2017.
And even though the Marlins held their own against Castillo on Tuesday, it wasn't enough to make up for a rough start from Caleb Smith and lackluster work from the bullpen in a 8-5 loss at Marlins Park.
Miami (47-84) tagged Castillo for three runs in the first two innings and five runs overall in six innings. After falling behind 2-0 in the top of the first on a Eugenio Suarez home run, Isan Diaz's two-out double to right-center in the first scored Jon Berti and Neil Walker to tie the game although Diaz was thrown out to end the inning trying to reach third on the play. Jorge Alfaro, Lewis Brinson and Austin Dean then hit three consecutive singles in the second to give the Marlins a brief lead.
Castillo settled in after that, holding his former team to one hit over the next three innings and striking out seven of eight batters at one point, before Alfaro hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth.
By that point, though, Castillo already had a lead too big for the Marlins to overcome.
The Reds (62-69) scored five unanswered runs in a three-inning span. Curt Casali hit a solo home run in the fourth and a two-run double in the fifth. Nick Senzel hit a two-run homer in the sixth.
Castillo also had two hits and scored on Senzel's sixth-inning home run against Tyler Kinley.
"He's a handful," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said of Castillo before the game. "He has good stuff. ... He's been a battle for a lot of teams this year."
The Marlins initially traded Castillo along with first baseman Josh Naylor and pitchers Jarred Cosart and Carter Capps to the San Diego Padres on July 29, 2016, for Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea, Tayron Guerrero and cash considerations. However, he was returned to the Marlins three days later after Rea was hurt in his Marlins debut.
And then, on Jan. 19, 2017, the Marlins traded Castillo again _ this time to the Reds with Austin Brice and Zeke White for starting pitcher Dan Straily.
Castillo made his MLB debut with the Reds in June 2017. He has been a mainstay in their starting rotation since and is in the midst of his best season in the big leagues.
Castillo was 12-5 with a 3.04 ERA in 26 starts this year heading into Tuesday's game, striking out 171 batters while walking 61 and holding hitters to a .203 batting average over 154 innings. He earned his first All-Star nomination this year.
He had also been particularly dominant against the Marlins in his MLB career. Castillo threw seven shutout innings on April 9 in his first meeting against Miami this year and had given up just one earned run in 23 1/3 innings in three career starts against the Marlins before Tuesday.
