Lodolo allowed a season-high seven runs against the Mets in the series finale, as Cincinnati was unable to complete the sweep.
With a chance to complete what would have been a momentum-shifting sweep, the Cincinnati Reds fell in their series finale against the New York Mets on Wednesday afternoon, 9-1.
Nick Lodolo took the mound at Great American Ball Park and was looking to take advantage of a Mets offense that has struggled against left-handers. Instead, the Mets pounced on him after they were gifted an opportunity by the Reds’ defense in the third inning.
Cincinnati had a chance to escape a third inning jam unscathed, but a dropped ball on what would have been an inning-ending double play prevented that. A barrage of singles from the Mets’ bats would give them a 3-0 lead, one that provided the spark for more.
Reds manager Terry Francona believes that result disrupted Lodolo’s rhythm on the mound.
“The third inning was big in a number of ways,” Francona said, according to Chatterbox Sports. “We don’t finish that play at third, we don’t execute it. I think it costs us 19 or 20 pitches, and I thought that definitely wore on him. I didn't think his fastball had the same finish after that.”
The left-hander turned in one of his worst outings all season, as he went on to allow seven earned runs on 11 hits over the course of 4 ⅔ innings. Lodolo now owns a 6.12 ERA through eight starts this season.
Lodolo, who opened the season on the injured list and made his season debut in early May, struggled to get Mets batters to whiff. Despite his defense not doing him many favors, Lodolo has significant room for improvement to regain his form.
“Obviously I’d like swing and miss. I wasn’t getting any swing and miss there,” Lodolo said. “But I haven’t really looked (into the) execution of pitches on that. There was definitely some (balls) hit hard, some weren’t. That’s the game though.”
The Reds offense was nearly blanked by a strong pitching effort from Mets starter Nolan McLean, who tossed seven innings and allowed just one run, while striking out nine batters. Their offense mustered just five hits as a team, scoring their lone run of the game on a JJ Bleday sacrifice fly.
Chris Paddack turned in a solid effort in long relief of Lodolo, allowing two runs over 4 ⅓ innings. But on a day where Cincinnati was banking on a chance to complete a sweep, the Reds needed more from all sides of the ball.
Cincinnati has a day off before opening a three-game set against the New York Yankees in the Bronx, starting on Friday.
