Lodolo pointed to one problem after Tuesday's 3-2 loss at Dodger Stadium, and the numbers from his season back him up.
Nick Lodolo needed 97 pitches to get 14 outs at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night, and by the time he handed the ball over in the fifth inning the Cincinnati Reds were behind for good in a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The left-hander walked three, hit two batters and gave up five hits in 4.2 innings, and he did not look for anyone else to blame.
"Too many free passes on my part. That's what led to the runs outside of the good hit by Smith in the first. Overall, got to limit the free passes," Lodolo told MLB.com.
Two of the three Los Angeles runs came after Lodolo put men on without a hit.
Where the Runs Came From
Will Smith homered with two outs in the first, and in the second Lodolo walked Teoscar Hernández and Enrique Hernández around a Max Muncy single before hitting Tommy Edman with the bases loaded.
Elly De La Cruz answered in the third with a two-run homer off Tarik Skubal that tied it at 2-2, his fourth straight game with a home run during the run he has been on lately.
De La Cruz now has 25 homers and 25 steals with a .283 average.
Lodolo walked Mookie Betts and hit Smith in the fifth, and Teoscar Hernández singled Betts home with two outs to end Lodolo's night.
The bullpen covered the rest without allowing a run, but Skubal went 7.1 innings and Cincinnati managed five hits.
The Walks
Lodolo is sitting on a 5.12 ERA with 38 walks and 14 hit batters in 89.2 innings over 18 starts.
Last year he walked 31 in 156.2 innings with a 3.33 ERA, so he has already passed that walk total in a little more than half the innings.
Two stints on the injured list with a blister on his left index finger, one in March and one in July, have not helped either.
Terry Francona said after the game that Lodolo was not commanding the ball early but looked better from the third inning on, and that he wanted his starter to get through the fifth.
Lodolo is the biggest rotation question Cincinnati has going into the winter.
Hunter Greene, the biggest reason this season went sideways, had a second Tommy John surgery in August and will likely miss all of 2027.
The club has Chase Burns on an innings limit with Brandon Williamson working behind him, and Rhett Lowder carries a 5.43 ERA into Wednesday's start.
The Reds need the 2025 version of Lodolo back next year, because this one will not hold a rotation spot.
What Is Left on This Trip
Cincinnati is 69-76 and 8.5 games out of the last National League wild card spot with 17 games to play.
The Dodgers already won the opener on Monday, a game Francona pinned on walks and a rushed play at third, so Wednesday's finale with Lowder facing Yoshinobu Yamamoto is about avoiding a sweep.
The club also released left-handed reliever Sam Moll on Tuesday, two days after designating him for assignment.
Thursday is an off day, then the Reds head to Milwaukee for three games before the Dodgers come to Cincinnati on Monday for four more.
