Rhett Lowder Opens Up After Reds Win in Final Start of Season

Pitcher Rhett Lowder had a rough September, and he picked the right time to turn it around.

Lowder threw six scoreless innings in his final start of the season on Saturday, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 at Rogers Centre.

MLB.com noted that he had gone 0-4 with a 12.33 ERA in his four starts before this one, so a clean outing to end the year meant more than one win usually does.

MLB.com reported that Lowder woke up with some tightness in his back, and he walked the first two Toronto hitters on eight straight balls.

He got out of the inning with a strikeout of designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a double play from catcher Alejandro Kirk, and he settled in from there.

After a one-out double in the third inning, he retired 11 of the last 12 batters he faced, and he finished with three hits, two walks and two strikeouts on 79 pitches.

The offense gave him plenty of room.

Left fielder JJ Bleday hit a solo homer in the second inning for his 24th of the season, and designated hitter Eugenio Suárez added an RBI double in a two-run third.

Right fielder Héctor Rodríguez then hit a two-run triple in the fifth.

Toronto's only run came in the seventh after Lowder left the game, against reliever Connor Phillips, whom the Reds recalled for this final road trip.

After the game, Lowder was careful not to make too much of one start.

"It means a lot especially how the past couple of ones have been going," Lowder told MLB.com. "Just take a little bit of positivity into the offseason. It's not just one good one and you're back, but it feels good."

Lowder is 7-12 with a 5.74 ERA in 29 games this season, and he called his own year inconsistent, which is fair, but there is more to his story than the numbers.

Manager Terry Francona pointed out that people have lost sight of the fact that Lowder did not pitch last year, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

MLB.com reported that a right forearm injury and then a severe oblique strain kept him off a big league mound in 2025, after he posted a 1.17 ERA in six starts in 2024.

The Reds are 75-86, and MLB.com noted their rotation ranks 28th in the majors with a 4.94 ERA.

Cincinnati has had a few bright spots on the mound lately, and even with bigger questions about how the team is run, the rotation needs Lowder to take a step forward.

He was the Reds' first-round pick in 2023, and he is 24 years old, so the talent is still there.

Saturday showed what he looks like when he trusts his stuff and throws strikes after a rough start.

The Reds finish the season in Toronto on Sunday at 3:07 p.m. Eastern, with pitcher Brandon Williamson on the mound.

After that, Lowder can head into the winter with a good memory instead of a bad one, and that could help him a lot when camp opens next spring.