CHICAGO – After Nick Lodolo's July 29 start against the Dodgers, both he and manager Terry Francona put less stock in his season-high 11 strikeouts than they did with the fact the oft-injured left-hander had completed his career-high 22nd start of the year.
“It’s huge,” Francona said when asked about Lodolo’s durability this season.
In an unfortunate twist Monday, Lodolo made it just 1 2/3 innings into his very next start before an injury forced him off the mound. After tallying the first two outs of the second inning against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Lodolo had to exit his outing with a blister on his left index finger.
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. 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.