The Reds placed left-hander Nick Lodolo on the 15-day injured list with a blister on his left index finger on Tuesday, a day after he was forced to exit Cincinnati's 3-2 win over the Cubs after just 1 2/3 innings.
The Reds recalled right-hander Yosver Zulueta from Triple-A Louisville in a corresponding move.
The southpaw had just thrown a first-pitch strike to Chicago first baseman Justin Turner, but after receiving the ball, immediately took a look at his finger and signaled to home-plate umpire CB Bucknor to call time before motioning to the Reds’ dugout.
“I pitched to [Willi] Castro, struck him out and didn’t feel anything,” Lodolo said. “Threw the slider to Turner and it felt like the skin ripped on my finger. So, before I go and throw another pitch, I thought it was best to stop, because I’ve done that in the past and it takes a lot longer to heal.”
Reds manager Terry Francona and a trainer came out to the mound, and it wasn’t long before the decision was made to end Lodolo’s night. Nick Martinez – who moved to Cincinnati's bullpen after the acquisition of right-hander Zack Littell on July 30 – came on in relief.
It was a setback in a season during which Lodolo has seen very few of them, a far cry from last year, when the 27-year-old spent four separate stints on the injured list. One of those trips was for a left index finger blister, which kept him sidelined from June 25 to July 9.
“If I threw a couple more pitches, it would not have been in a good spot,” Lodolo said. “Fortunately, I know what it feels like. … Last year, I started trying to throw the ball, compensating, because I didn’t want to put too much pressure through the index finger.”
Lodolo was quick to note Monday’s blister didn’t feel as painful as the one that sidelined him last season.
“You don’t ever want this to turn into something else arm-wise or something like that. So we’ll do the right thing," Francona said after Monday's game.