The 24-year-old right-hander fanned three batters in the Cincinnati Reds' 3-2 victory over the Athletics on Wednesday.
As the Cincinnati Reds took a 3-2 win in their Wednesday matchup against the Athletics, starting right-hander Rhett Lowder came out victorious as well, earning his first win since April.
The 24-year-old is now 4-7 on the season after compiling a 5.26 ERA and 1.48 WHIP while recording 73 strikeouts in 89 innings pitched this season.
"When you’re kind of not helping the team win, you want to try to be perfect every time you go out there," said Lowder, according to MLB.com. "I just had to be like, ‘You’re not going to climb out of the hole you dug yourself in earlier by just being perfect.’ It puts so much more pressure on yourself."
The Athletics struck first though as Lawrence Butler launched a solo homer to right center in the first inning, giving the Athletics an early 1-0 advantage. Tyler Soderstrom also drew a five-pitch walk, but that was all the Athletics got when Jonah Heim and Jeff McNeil struck out swinging.
Lowder limited traffic on the basepaths in the second. This allowed Jose Trevino to tie things up at 1-1 for Cincinnati with an RBI single that brought home Noelvi Marte. Lowder continued to keep the Athletics' bats at bay, paving the way for Matt McLain to give the Reds their lead of the game with a solo blast in the fifth.
The Athletics refused to go out quietly in the sixth when an RBI double by Heim drove in Soderstrom to knot the matchup at 2-2. Nonetheless, Lowder held on for Marte to bring in Sal Stewart for the game-sealing run that same inning with a sacrifice fly.
"I gave up the lead the last inning and really, no one was worried about that," Lowder said. "That’s the mentality you have to have as a good team. When you’re playing well, don’t worry about giving up a run or striking out or having a bad inning. You’re pretty confident you’ve got time to win the game."
On April 20 against the Tampa Bay Rays, Lowder allowed just one earned run and struck out three batters through six innings despite giving up five hits. He would utilize the sinker in the first inning, one of the best pitches at his arsenal this season, to freeze up a pair of hitters in Jake Fraley and Cedric Mullins while the Reds took hold of an early 2-1 lead.
Tampa Bay continued to be left without an answer for Lowder as he got Nick Fortes to bite on a down and away 86-mph slider in the fourth.
His efforts ultimately led to the Reds earning a 6-1 win when Rece Hinds hit an RBI double in the sixth, driving in Spencer Steer and Eugenio Suárez. Stewart would score the final run of the game in the seventh off a wild pitch by reliever Trevor Martin.
Lowder would have another excellent outing in the Reds' 3-2 victory over the NL Central rival Pittsburgh Pirates on July 30, notching five strikeouts and giving up two earned runs through six innings of action. Unfortunately for him, reliever Emilio Pagán would be credited with the win instead.
