Brandon Williamson equaled one career high and established another Monday and was the winning pitcher as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Miami Marlins 5-2 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
The Martin County West graduate tied a career best by going 6 2/3 innings and struck out a career-high nine as the Reds ended a six-game losing streak.
“It’s probably the best start of my life, honestly," Williamson told The Enquirer. "Because what you do at High-A, college or high school doesn’t really compare to what you do in the big leagues."
Williamson allowed one earned run and three hits, one of which was Jorge Soler's solo homer in the first inning. He did not walk a batter. The left hander threw 89 pitches, 63 for strikes.
“I’ve tried taking out a lot of uncontrollable,” Williamson commented. “On top of working with TJ (Cincinnati catcher TJ Friedl) for a couple of months now. He’s been very specific with what is expected and what needs to change and how we can get better doing it.”
The Reds are 1 1/2 games behind Milwaukee in the National League Central. If the season ended today, they have the third and final wild card berth in the playoffs.
Cincinnati hasn’t announced any starting pitching assignments beyond Wednesday. With three off days in the next 10 days, the Reds may make some adjustments with their rotation.