Breakthrough efforts by Barrero, Lodolo spur walk-off win
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CINCINNATI -- After waving goodbye to several starters at the Trade Deadline, Reds fans may have gotten a glimpse at the future of the organization during Wednesday afternoon.
Rookie left-hander Nick Lodolo dealt a career-high seven scoreless frames, while recently promoted Jose Barrero delivered the critical blow in the Reds’ 1-0 walk-off win over the Phillies in the series finale at Great American Ball Park.
After both teams were shut down by opposing pitchers, Barrero stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning of a scoreless game with the winning run on second base. Facing Seranthony Domínguez, who had not allowed a run since July 10, Barrero chopped a 1-1 fastball back up the middle to plate Albert Almora Jr. The walk-off gave Barrero his signature moment thus far at the big league level -- along with a water cooler shower from his teammates after the game.
“I was just trying to make contact however possible I could. Fortunately, I was able to get contact right there,” Barrero said through a translator after the game. “Everybody was happy, the whole team was very happy. It felt incredible to experience that.”
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Barrero is batting just .188/.188/.333 since getting recalled on Aug. 3, but he remains a big piece of the rebuild in Cincinnati. Reds manager David Bell has been pleased with how Barrero has continued to persevere through his hitting woes.
“We couldn't be happier for him,” Bell said after the game. “When you stay with it and keep doing the right thing, usually it rewards you, and that’s what happened today. I know it's one hit and one game, but it was a big one. Everything can be built on and learned from. It’s nice when you get rewarded and you learn what you get when you handle things the right way.”
Lodolo emptied the tank in the seventh inning, retiring the bottom of the Phillies’ order on just eight pitches to put a bow on his career outing. Battling through seven innings for the first time in his career, the 6-foot-6 left-hander struck out eight while allowing five hits and two walks.
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His outing wasn't perfect, but he was able to work in and out of his own trouble -- an encouraging sign for a young pitcher.
“I felt like I got better as the game went on,” Lodolo said. “Those first three innings, [I was] kind of working through traffic, and then from there I feel like I just got a little bit better.”
Lodolo threw 98 pitches (64 strikes) and leaned heavily on his sweeping curve to record key outs. On 33 curveballs, he induced 22 swings and recorded 11 whiffs.
“I felt like mainly my curveball was pretty good and in the zone. It was spinning good. I was able to get it down today, [which] I think was the biggest thing compared to last week, [when] they were staying up a bit.”
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After lasting just 4 2/3 innings while allowing four runs on seven hits in his last start at the Field of Dreams Game, Lodolo bounced back against a Phillies lineup that includes sluggers Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos, who all helped put up 15 runs across the series’ first two games.
“It doesn't get much better than that,” Bell said. “You look at the Phillies lineup, throughout the entire lineup and even the first half of it, the quality of right-handed hitters that they’ve faced, it takes the best stuff to stop a lineup like that.”