Lodolo pitched five scoreless innings on a strict pitch count Sunday, and the Reds still lost 7-1 to the Marlins as their season keeps sliding.
Nick Lodolo took the mound Sunday afternoon at Great American Ball Park still working back from a blister issue on his left index finger, and for five innings he looked like a pitcher with nothing left to prove.
He walked off with a scoreless line, only to watch the bullpen give it all back in a 7-1 loss to the Miami Marlins.
The result stung for a Reds team that has stopped climbing and started sliding in August.
Scoreless Start Undone Late
Lodolo allowed three hits and two walks over five innings, struck out two, and needed only 73 pitches to do it.
He retired the final six batters he faced before handing the ball to the bullpen with the score still tied at zero.
"I would like to go six innings, especially with what we have ahead [Monday]," Lodolo said. "But I understand it, it's a process, and I'm building up."
Tejay Antone came on in the eighth and gave up a home run to Heriberto Hernández, then watched a throwing error by Elly De La Cruz open the door for a second run.
Tyler Stephenson, pinch hitting for Ke'Bryan Hayes, answered with a home run of his own, his 12th of the season, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
It did not last.
Ron Marinaccio allowed five runs in the ninth, including a two-run double from Agustín Ramírez and a three-run homer from Javier Sanoja, turning a tight game into a lopsided one.
The loss closed out a series Cincinnati lost after the Reds shut out Miami to open it Friday.
The Season Is Fading
Sunday's loss dropped Cincinnati to 59-64, in last place in the National League Central and 17 games behind the division-leading Brewers.
The Reds sit seven games back of the final National League wild card spot, and that gap only gets harder to close with weeks left to play.
It doesn't seem like long ago, that the Reds were one of baseball's hottest teams.
A loss like Sunday's shows how fast that feeling can fade once the bullpen stops holding up its end.
What Comes Next For Cincinnati
The front office leaned on returning arms like Lodolo after placing Hunter Greene on the injured list for the season, and that plan still has not paid off.
There is no break to regroup either.
The Reds open a doubleheader at home against the Cardinals on Monday, the first of a five-game series, before heading to Arizona for three games Friday.
That much baseball in a short window will test a pitching staff still piecing itself back together.
For a team parked in last place, a game like Sunday matters less for the standings and more for what it reveals.
Lodolo looked ready for a longer outing before his own plan stopped him, and his ERA sits at 4.52 while he works to bring it down.
Those are the pieces Cincinnati needs if next year is going to look different.
