MILWAUKEE — As his rookie year winds down, Reds starting pitcher Nick Lodolo has seemingly found another gear as he keeps gaining momentum.
Lodolo had another best start of his young big league career — and he’s had a few of those lately — but Friday’s 8-2 victory over the Brewers at American Family Field topped them all. As Cincinnati won its third consecutive game, the left-hander set career highs with eight innings pitched and 11 strikeouts.
“It’s the way his season has gone. He just keeps getting better and tonight, during the game, he just kept getting better,” Reds manager David Bell said.
While allowing five hits with no walks, Lodolo gave up just two earned runs on a Tyrone Taylor home run. He retired his final nine batters in a row, and 12 of his last 13 with one batter reaching on a hit-by-pitch.
Lodolo’s 107th and final pitch was a 95 mph fastball that struck out Taylor swinging.
“I’ll be honest — I was tired, but the ball was still coming out good, and I felt like my direction to the plate was good. It was good. Just keep rolling.”
Over his past five starts, Lodolo has a 2.43 ERA with 38 strikeouts and has allowed 20 hits and six walks in 33 1/3 innings. He’s worked seven or more innings three times over that span. But this was his first pitching win since July 25.
Lodolo’s previous start on Sunday against the Rockies saw him work six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk with nine strikeouts.
“A lot of similarities to the last one,” catcher Austin Romine said. “Really good fastballs. A lot of punchies with it up in the zone. He’s got that curveball that we all talk about, we all see. It’s a really good pitch. When you’re commanding in, up, down-and-in with an offspeed pitch, even against a good-hitting team like the Brewers, I think he was kind of overpowering them with his heater up and making quality pitches.”
Statcast certainly backed up what Romine was seeing.
• Lodolo’s fastball — thrown 69 times — averaged 94.9 mph and maxed out at 96.3 mph. Hitters swung 39 times and whiffed 12 times. It was his Strike-3 pitch eight times, including his final three.
• He also threw 36 curveballs, inducing 20 swings and eight misses — including three third strikes.
“Good fastball up early on,” Lodolo said. “As the game went on, I started to gain a feel for that curveball again and bury it with two strikes. Once I had those two rolling, it was fun.”
Before he even set foot on the mound, the Reds lineup gave…
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