The Cincinnati Reds night went from bad to worse in a matter of seconds. Nick Lodolo gave up a game tying home run to start the 6th inning and before Carson Kelly even rounded the bases Lodolo was checking out a blister on his finger and had to exit the game. Chicago would take the lead for good in the next inning as the Cubs evened up the series with a 5-3 win on Saturday.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs (53-42) | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (43-51) | 3 | 11 | 0 |
| W: Pomeranz (2-3) L: Garcia (0-2) SV: Thornton (3) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Cincinnati Reds got back-to-back singles to begin the bottom of the 1st inning. Javier Assad was able to get out of the jam with a strikeout and a grounder that turned into a double play and kept the game scoreless. Two innings later the Reds would again get back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the 3rd. And once again Cincinnati came up short and couldn’t bring in a run after two fly outs and Elly De La Cruz getting picked off at first.
Nick Lodolo had not been in much trouble through the first three innings, but a leadoff walk in the 4th was followed up by a single and all of a sudden he found himself in a jam. The lefty then got himself right out of it on two pitches by getting a double play ball and a lineout. His teammates had his back in the bottom of the inning as Nathaniel Lowe and Eugenio Suarez went back-to-back with solo home runs to put the Reds up 2-0.
The Cubs put together a 2-out rally in their half of the 5th inning. Miguel Amaya kept the inning alive with a single. A walk followed. Then Seiya Suzuki came through with an RBI single to cut the lead in half. In the 6th inning Nick Lodolo returned to the mound still holding on to a 2-1 lead. After his third pitch of the inning the lead was gone as he gave up a solo homer to Carson Kelly. It was also the last pitch Lodolo threw on the day as he had to exit the game with a blister on his index finger.
Caleb Ferguson took over for Lodolo and he would give up the lead after a single was followed up with a 1-out RBI double from Ian Happy. Cincinnati tied things back up in their half of the 6th when JJ Bleday led off with a home run down the right field line.
Julian Garcia recorded the final out of the 6th and he returned for the 7th. After issuing a 1-out walk to Seiya Suzuki he saw Alex Bregman hit a 2-run home run to put the Cubs in the lead.
Neither team would score after that heading into the bottom of the 9th. Tyler Stephenson led off the frame with a single and took second on a wild pitch. He then moved to third on a fly out to right field to the warning track. After a strikeout, Ryan Rolison walked Elly De La Cruz on five pitches to put runners on the corners with two outs. With Sal Stewart coming up Chicago made a pitching change to bring in right-hander Trent Thornton with the game on the line. He needed four pitches but he got the job done, inducing a weak groundout from Stewart to end the game.
Key Moment of the Game
Alex Bregman’s go-ahead 2-run home run in the 7th inning. Those would be the final runs of the game.
Notes Worth Noting
Nick Lodolo noted in his postgame interview that he felt the blister as he warmed up for the 6th inning but didn’t see anything on his finger but during the at-bat to Carson Kelly he really felt it and on the final pitch it showed up.
Elly De La Cruz, Nathaniel Lowe, Eugenio Suarez, and TJ Friedl all had 2-hit games.
The Reds didn’t have any hits with runners in scoring position, going 0-8 on the night. The Cubs went 1-9.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds
Sunday July 12th, 1:40pm ET
Matthew Boyd (4-1, 4.31 ERA) vs Andrew Abbott (5-5, 3.92 ERA)
Lodolo may have to reinvent himself to stay in the league i think. Possibly to the bullpen as a closer perhaps
Yep! I move him to the bullpen when he comes back and trade him in the offseason if he stays healthy. He can’t handle being a starter.
Good news though, the Reds drafted 5 shortstops, LOL.
Don’t you know that being an athlete automatically means that you can judge balls off of the bat in the outfield and play every other position without a hitch. They can have a very athletic guy at every position if they try hard enough. They can be taught to hit here in this system and it will translate to the bigs, as consistently proven. It’s a foolproof plan, not at all foolish but foolproof I tell you. It won’t be long and the Reds will be propelled from last place to 4th place, perhaps as soon as 2029.
Ian Happy. LOL. Good one!
You could see a change in the 3 inning that contributed through the 5th. He should never have pitched any longer, and the proof was the home run he gave up. Poor coaching tonight cause us the game.
No what dudes them the gNw was not getting guys in with less than 2 outs especially in the first three innings. This offense is freaking a joke .
No one is going to trade for Lodolo at this point. If he comes back at all, make him your closer and hope for the best. Makes it more difficult to trade Singer as well. Someone has to start games for the rest of the season.
No it does not ,
t this point it doesn’t matter whom starts
You still have Petty, lowder gies back to the SR , plus what’s scrub is down in Ville. Same for the guys in the BP move everyone . Steer, TS , Suarez , Lowe, as position guys .
I’m on the fence with JjB .
Looks like an IL stint. Guess we’ll see Petty again tomorrow. He didn’t pitch tonight, so he’ll be ready to go tomorrow. Lowder in Lodolo’s spot in the rotation after the break. Looks like he lines up after Burns in the 2nd game of the Seattle series.
Just watched the highlights after following most of the game on Gameday. What a ninth inning ! It just doesn’t get any better in terms of drama. All the Reds’ runs came on homers, and Lowe and Geno went back to back. Bleday had the third. The Cubs are going to be glad to leave Cincy, but they have one more to play …
Seems fitting the Reds would lose Nick and Chase at the same time. They make a great memorable duo, sort of like Spahn and Sain:
“Blisters and Burns”
lol
3 solo HRs = 3
8 singles and 3 walks = nothing. Tito won’t run them. Nobody can squeeze a run in. Its embarrassing. Its baseball and you’re professionals. Its not HR derby. Its like a boxer that has no jab and no left hand. You’re not a boxer
There you are, it’s not Lodolo, the pitching , (starters) we don’t have a bullpen, the starters will be fine all season, we got starters , THERE’S NOTHING ELSE….3 HRS, 3 RUNS….that’s all and we’re going to lose a ton of games like this, 2 out of every 3.
Getting picked off of first with a runner on second is inexcusable,I don’t care what kind of talent DeLa Cruz has he has never respected the game,he is a cancer,he would be a good fit for the NBA,really?what’s he doing ?looking at his pink shoestrings,if Tito had any guts he would have sit him out the rest of the game,no wonder this team is going nowhere!!Terrible from top to bottom
What!!????!!!!! A cancer? Pink shoestrings?! Because he made a mistake?! I’ll take six or seven more Elly’s on the team.
He’s never been a team player,manager is so afraid to discipline him at all,I agree he has talent,needs a firm,smart manager to handle it the right way,all about himself,maybe he will be a good fit for the Yankees or Mets,Reds are far from being winners with him,so dump him while you can get something,all this team cares about is there bank account and cheap bobblehead promos
The undertones of this comment are not great and give me some real specific vibes about what you really want to say.
@Brian. I wouldn’t go the route you’re going with your opinion . The implication your making is not based on facts or evidence…
Neither was the comment he was addressing based on facts and evidence.
“A Cancer”
Tell me how he doesn’t respect the game? Your comment suggest alot more than just being critical of one play.
I’ve watched nearly every single Reds game since Elly joined the team. I have never once seen even the slightest hint that Elly has disrespected the game or is a cancer. In fact, it’s the opposite. He has always shown me to be one of the few people out there who truly loves to play, and enjoys every second of it, and is the consummate team player. I have no idea where your opinion comes from.
People with eyes knew Lodolo was fragile 2 years ago. Reds are constantly trying to manage players who they know are injury prone. The results have been poor.
The time to deal Lodolo has come and gone, and now the Reds are stuck with him.
Best ability: Availability.
With all respect to Doug and the site, which I absolutely love, I would love to give a shout out to Charlie Goldsmiths Chalkboard. I feel it is the most informed and honest articles written with someboday so close to the Reds.
Agreed.
Now if only he would grow a spine and get off of the Nazi platform that is Substack and more people would read his work.
Two terrible decisions made in this game. First, a trainer with immense blister knowledge has to sit with Lodolo between innings to examine his finger. There is no way that the finger wasn’t showing distress before going out there for the 6th inning besides knowing heat and humidity are not good for the finger! Also knowing that extra rest for the all-star game is around the corner. Second, I was begging for SteveO to pinch hit for Trevino in the 7th with 2 runners on. TS is hotter than a firecracker and the lefty Pomeranz was struggling. Oh well, live to lose another day.
I definitely agree with point #2 and #1 makes sense as well.
On another note we can talk about the bull pen, the starters lack of depth all we want but the #1 reason why this team is 43 and 53 is the lack of hitting with runners in scoring position and it is not close. Every hitter on the team is guilty of this even Sal and Elly, for as good as they both are at a young age neither one of them, especially Elly, are the clutch hitters that your stars need to be.
The Reds often times are just plain guilty of very poor situation hitting. Not to pick on Bleday but just to use him as an example. He was up with runners on 1st and 3rd with no one out. His AB was critical in not scoring runs that inning. You absolutely cannot strikeout in that situation if you’re a team struggling to score runs as the Reds have been virtually all year. Even if he hits into a DP he still scores a run with no outs. The next guy up did hit into a DP and of course and did not score a run. Even a poor hitting team should have been able to score there more often than not. There was no need to be “a better hitter with RISP”. Just think about the situation.
Many like to use the Big Red Machine as the ultimate example of how to play. I certainly won’t argue with that. You can go back and watch vidoes of Joe Morgan crossing home plate and standing there with his arms raised praising Tony Perez for hitting a ground ball to get a run in. That’s the kind of mentality this team needs but certainly does not have.
The game showed the limitations of solo homers.
Record is 43 and 51.
From an article I read this morning after the replacement for Ohtani named:
“Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz was just snubbed for the All-Star Game all over again
A side-by-side comparison of the stats shows that there’s literally no contest between De La Cruz and Herrera. Even though he missed about a month due to a hamstring injury, De La Cruz still has more home runs (15), RBI (44), and stolen bases (13) than the Cardinals designated hitter. The only meaningful statistic that Herrera can boast about is his on-base percentage (.386 OBP), which is slightly higher than De La Cruz’s (.345 OBP).”
Article by Drew Koch
Huh. Good catch, Melvin. I have no idea how many other Cardinals made the All-Star team. If they only have one (to the Reds’ two) could that be part of it?
I don’t ever remember hearing about a blister being possibly being a career altering problem for a player in MLB. Perhaps it has happened before. Reds can’t catch a break. We finally get Greene back and pitching well and we lose two SP. Does this solidify, if not before this happened the Reds being sellers?
This is what puzzles me about Lodolo. I mean, not as much about Lodolo as much as do the Reds still entertain the idea of sticking with him.
Part of me doesn’t even really get it. I don’t believe he ever had this blister problem in college. But, he gets it now?
Also, odds are we aren’t going to extend Singer. If we trade off Lodolo, that’s 2 of our starters we need to replace. We have the depth, but it’s awful young.
I can’t help thinking regulate Lodolo to the bullpen now.
But, I will state this. . .I played guitar for years. And, when I stopped then tried to start it again, I remembered how much my fingers hurt. Because I lost my callouses on my fingertips that helped me hold the strings down.
I can’t help thinking that Lodolo, during the off-season, needs to think of some ways to build those callouses up so they don’t tear so easily during the season.