Reds' Luis Castillo: Struggling with changeup

Castillo is struggling with his changeup and has adjusted his gameplan to throw the pitch less often, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports. "What I've seen is about 70% of my pitches are staying in the zone," Castillo said through team interpreter Jorge Merlos. "I'm definitely noticing that and I'm definitely focusing on that, too. What I'm trying to do now is pitch lower so that way we can get more swings and misses and more ground balls."

Castillo's out pitch is his changeup, so it's obviously a big concern when it's not on. He threw 24 changeups against Cleveland on Saturday, drawing 17 swings and only one whiff. It follows that he had only two strikeouts in the short start, with neither of the K's coming on the changeup. Alas, his next start is in Coors Field this week, making it less likely that he fixes his early season woes.