Cincinnati Reds utility man strikes out Cleveland Indians' Ramirez on nasty cutter

Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Cincinnati Reds utility man Brandon Dixon took the mound during a loss to the Cleveland Indians and struck out Jose Ramirez with a mean cut fastball.

Dixon took the mound in the top of the ninth inning during the Reds' 10-3 loss Monday at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. he replaced Reds pitcher Cody Reed.

The Reds' unlikely arm began the frame by forcing Francisco Lindor to pop out to third baseman Eugenio Suarez. He then got Michael Brantley to fly out to left field after a three-pitch exchange.

Then the Indians' All-Star third baseman walked to the plate. Dixon only needed three pitches to get rid of the switch hitter. Ramirez was caught looking at a 66 mph cutter for a strike on the first offering of the exchange. Dixon then tossed in a 74.5 mph cutter.

Despite seeing consecutive slow cutters, Ramirez had no chance at Dixon's third pitch of the face off. Dixon fired in a 66.9 mph cutter. The pitch floated in high before painting the top of the strike zone. Dixon -- one of the best players in the American League this season -- couldn't hold on to his bat for that pitch. He let the lumber fly out of his hands to his right into foul territory.

Unfortunately for the Reds, Ramirez did plenty of damage earlier in the ballgame. The Indians' No. 3 hitter was 3-for-5 with three RBIs, two runs scored, a walk and a strikeout in the victory. Ramirez is now hitting .301 with 35 home runs and 87 RBIs on the season for the Tribe.

Monday's mound appearance was Dixon's pitching debut at the MLB level.