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 in the Reds' 3-2 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. 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.
“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.”
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. Despite that, Francona implied a stint on the injured list may be the next step, if only to ensure the left-hander doesn’t try to push through the ailment.
“I certainly think we’re going to err on the side of caution, because he’s dealt with this before,” Francona said. “You don’t ever want this to turn into something else arm-wise or something like that. So we’ll do the right thing.”
Though the news may not be welcome after how long Lodolo has been able to maintain his health this season, he at the very least appreciated the bullpen's efforts in stepping up after his exit to help guide Cincinnati to a victory.
“They’ve been great all year,” Lodolo said. “For those guys to step in, Nick gave us some length there, and then for the back-end guys just to do what they do, credit to them.”