Despite a frustrating week, their uber-talented lefty looked excellent.
Let’s go ahead and get the obvious out of the way: the Cincinnati Reds had a pretty brutal week overall.
They lost three consecutive games by the score of 1-0, in the process becoming the first MLB club since the 1960 Philadelphia Phillies to accomplish said feat. They backed that up by extending their scoreless streak to 35 innings before eventually scoring twice in a 3-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers to extend their futility in 1-run games.
They lost the series to the Texas Rangers despite a 14-run outburst in the series, and lost three of four to the Brewers despite an 11-run outburst in that series.
Consistency has not been reliable, perhaps due to the injuries and a recent illness in the dugout. Matt McLain’s hamstring has had him sidelined, Spencer Steer is still limited to DH-only duties, and both Tyler Stephenson and Austin Hays remain on the IL. The bats, therefore, have been few and far between.
That brings us to the team’s starting pitching, which has been completely stellar thus far. Chief among that excellence has been lefty Nick Lodolo, who earns this week’s Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Week award after firing 6.2 IP of 0 ER ball against the Rangers in his lone outing.
Lodolo’s only worst enemy that day was his own defense, as he dropped a ball covering 1B that came around to score an unearned run. It was the lone run he yielded on the day, however, and he fanned 4 against nary a walk in the kind of vintage ‘control all parts of the strike zone’ way he was once lauded for before injuries sent his career sideways.
In fact, he has yet to walk a batter through 12.2 IP and a pair of starts so far this year. While his K/9 is down from where I anticipate it will surely end up, he’s both pounding the zone and keeping hits (and runs) off the board. That’s precisely the kind of complement the Reds need atop their rotation alongside Hunter Greene, and it’s precisely what they’re getting from him so far.
Now, if only he could hit…