Brandon Williamson pitched six shutout innings Thursday night for the Cincinnati Reds in the first of a four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix.
The game between the National League Wild Card rivals was scoreless when Williamson left. Arizona would eventually claim a 3-2 win.
The Reds needed Williamson to pitch a solid game with a tired bullpen as they had played a doubleheader vs. the Angels the previous day. He gave them six scoreless innings on six hits, one walk and six strikeouts.
“Brandon Williamson gave us everything we needed, and more," Cincinnati Manager David Bell said.
However, Arizona’s Merrill Kelly was also pitching an impressive game, retiring 21 of 22 batters with only a third inning double by Noelvi Marte separating him from perfection in his seven innings. He struck out 12.
“I just pitched. I didn’t try to put any extra stress on it," Williamson told Mark Sheldon of mlb.com. "I went out and tried to throw as many good, quality pitches as I could. You do that, playoffs or not, that’s how you get the best results.”
For the season, the left-hander has a 4-3 record with a 4.18 earned run average.
In 92 2/3 innings he has allowed 46 runs (43 earned) on 83 hits, walked 33, hit one and struck out 82. Opponents have a .238 batting average and Williamson has struck out 8.0 batters per nine innings. Cincinnati is 10-8 in games Williamson starts.
The Diamondbacks slipped ahead of the Reds in the race for the final Wild Card spot in the National League. Arizona has a 67-61 record, while Cincinnati is 67-62. The teams are playing a four-game series through Sunday.
Williamson’s next start is scheduled for Tuesday vs. the Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco. The Giants are a half-game behind the Reds with a 66-61 record. San Francisco is home vs. Atlanta over the weekend.