Terry Francona Sees Something Bigger in Nick Lodolo's Strong Finish

Nick Lodolo gave the Cincinnati Reds seven innings on Saturday night and still walked off the mound a loser, which sums up this whole Reds season.

The Cubs beat Cincinnati 5-2 behind two solo homers and an offense that kept chipping away, while the Reds managed four hits and dropped to eleven games under .500.

The left-hander allowed three runs on six hits, walked two and threw 90 pitches, and for most of the night he kept a good Cubs lineup within reach.

Cincinnati even pulled level at 2-2 in the fifth, when designated hitter Eugenio Suárez raced home from first after a single by left fielder JJ Bleday got away on a throwing error, and third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes later singled Bleday home to tie it.

First baseman Michael Busch answered in the sixth with a solo homer that put Chicago back in front, and the Reds never caught up again.

Chicago added a run in the eighth, and the best Cincinnati chance died in the bottom of that inning, when first baseman Sal Stewart, one of the few hitters this lineup can already build around, struck out with two runners in scoring position.

Shortstop Dansby Swanson closed the scoring with a solo homer in the ninth.

Manager Terry Francona has watched Lodolo fight through a miserable year.

Two stints on the injured list with a blister on his left index finger wrecked his rhythm, and the season line still shows it, a 5.04 ERA across 20 starts.

What Francona sees now is different.

Lodolo has gone seven innings in back-to-back outings with the blister finally behind him, and the manager explained why that means so much in a season with nothing left to play for.

"I think it's good for everybody. You want guys to, and I'm not talking about going home yet, but you want them to have something to build into the offseason, then have a very good offseason."

That thinking runs through the whole roster.

Cincinnati is out of the postseason race, and the front office has big questions to answer this winter, including what its rotation should look like.

Lodolo finishing healthy changes that math.

A left-hander who looks like his old self in late September is a building block, while one who limps to the finish is one more problem for a staff that already has plenty.

The gap between those two versions of the same pitcher shapes how aggressive Cincinnati gets this winter.

Lodolo lines up for one final start on Friday in Toronto, a last chance to bank a third straight deep outing before winter.

The Reds close the Cubs series, then finish the year on the road in Atlanta and Toronto.

None of those games will change where Cincinnati lands in the standings.

They can still change how a few careers feel heading into next spring, and that goes for a rotation that has spent September searching for encouraging signs wherever it can find them.

Lodolo is the one currently providing those signs, and Francona clearly wants him to leave for the winter with that feeling in hand.