Lefty Nick Lodolo pitched well on Saturday night against the Chicago Cubs right up until the point where he didn’t, a point that just so happened to coincide with a meatball to catcher Carson Kelly that was turned around for a 410 foot homer over the CF wall.
As it turns out, that meatball came as Lodolo developed yet another blister on his left index finger, and it was the final pitch he threw on the night. He exited in a huff – hard to blame him since he continues to be plagued by the most basic
of injuries – and on Sunday the Reds placed him on the 15-day IL again to deal with the issue.
Chase Petty was recalled.
It is a bummer giganto because Lodolo had finally begun to look himself of late. Across 20.0 IP over his most recent 4 GS, he’d allowed just 14 hits while posting 18 K and a 1.35 ERA. Blisters don’t just hurt, of course, but they also impact which pitches pitchers can comfortably throw, something that can totally alter the way they approach each and every hitter – if you can’t throw your slider with confidence or without a twinge of pain, you can’t try to park it on a hitter’s back foot the way you otherwise would.
We saw how long it took Brady Singer to get back in the groove after his own bout. Now, we get to see if Lodolo can jump back into the flow after the All Star break or if it takes him longer to get his pitch-mix back to normal as he fights through this.
Rhett Lowder will presumably slide back into the rotation in Lodolo’s stead, which is a good backup plan to have. Chase Petty, who was recalled to take Lodolo’s spot on the roster, will presumably take over a late-inning relief role for the time being the way he did before being optioned.
