Luis Castillo did not need much help. He got it anyway. The White Sox turned a dominant start into a comfortable 5-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds, adding runs in bunches whenever Castillo needed the cushion.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| CWS | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | X | 5 | 11 | 0 |
Castillo was the story for seven innings, allowing just one hit and no runs while striking out 10 across 104 pitches. He walked two but was never seriously threatened, working around the only Reds hit with the kind of efficiency that kept Cincinnati off balance all night. The win improved him to 4-9 on the season, with an ERA of 4.96.
Drew Romo gave Castillo his first cushion, homering to right for 403 feet in the third inning to make it 0-1 and put the White Sox ahead for good. Chicago pulled away in the sixth when Chase Meidroth homered to left, scoring Colson Montgomery ahead of him to make it 0-3. The White Sox tacked on more in the eighth: Romo singled to center to bring home Colson Montgomery, and Tristan Peters later scored on a wild pitch by Ron Marinaccio, with Romo advancing to second on the same play.
Rhett Lowder took the loss for Cincinnati, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits over 5.1 innings with 4 strikeouts and a walk, falling to 4-8. The Reds bullpen struggled behind him, with three relievers combining for 3 runs over 2.2 innings as Cincinnati's offense never found its footing, managing only 2 hits all night.
The win pushed Chicago to 62-57, snapping any momentum Cincinnati had built. The Reds fell to 57-62 with the loss, having dropped their most recent game after a win. Romo and Meidroth each finished 2-for-4 with a homer and 2 RBIs, while Sam Antonacci added three hits at the top of the White Sox lineup.