After career-high 5 walks, Lodolo reflects on '22

CHICAGO -- It's been a very good stretch of late season starts for Reds rookie pitcher Nick Lodolo, but the left-hander wasn't thrilled with his final outing of 2022. On a blustery day with the wind blowing in while facing the Cubs, Lodolo uncharacteristically issued walks and spent a chunk of his effort working out of jams.

It was a no-decision for Lodolo in the Reds' 2-1 defeat at Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon. Over five innings, Lodolo allowed one run on two hits but walked a career-high five batters while striking out five.

"The free bases are the biggest takeaway for me," Lodolo said. "I found a way to get out of it, so I made some pitches when I needed to, but overall, when I think of it that’s the first thing that comes to mind."

A Seiya Suzuki solo home run to left field with two outs in the seventh inning against reliever Derek Law snapped a 1-1 tie. The Reds, who ranked 29th in runs (90) during September, had no response -- and no hits after the third inning.

Cincinnati has lost five straight games and 18 of its last 22 to reach a 60-98 record. It will need to win three of the final four games to avoid the second 100-loss season in franchise history and first in 40 years.

The Reds' travails are not a reflection on how Lodolo has performed. He finished the season 4-7 with a 3.66 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 19 starts. Over his past nine starts and 55 2/3 innings, the 24-year-old had a 2.75 ERA with 66 strikeouts.

"I feel pretty good about it," Lodolo said. "I think from the All-Star break on, really kind of started to get into a rhythm. I’m happy the way I threw it in the second half is the biggest thing."

It was a strong finish to a year that didn't exactly start on the right foot. Lodolo gave up a season-high five earned runs in his Major League debut on April 13 vs. the Guardians. After his third start and first big league win over the Cardinals on April 24, he went on the injured list for more than two months.

"He did come back stronger after he was injured; I think he made the most of that time and continued to stay engaged with the team and what he needed to do," Reds manager David Bell said. "I think also it was understanding what he needed to do with his pitch usage and what it took to get Major League hitters out, which a lot of times is just doing what you do best."

At the beginning of September, Lodolo had back-to-back no-walk, 11-strikeout performances. But on Saturday vs. the Cubs, walks caused him some trouble. None hurt more than a two-out walk to David Bote in the bottom of the second inning. Nelson Velázquez followed by hitting an RBI triple to right-center field to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. Lodolo walked the next two batters to load the bases but escaped when Suzuki flew out to right field.

"I didn’t feel out of control or anything," Lodolo said. "If you take out that [second] inning, it was a decent day. I made pitches when I needed to and just minimized it to keep us in it."

Lodolo's primary pitches have been the fastball and curveball but especially in the more recent starts, he has increasingly integrated his changeup into the mix. He threw it eight times for six strikes – including on a pair of groundouts during a 1-2-3 bottom of the third inning.

"Let the changeup work continue. It showed up today when I needed it. It got some guys off some [other] stuff," Lodolo said.

"Nick -- I give him a ton of credit in his first year. When some are just trying to survive, he’s actually made improvements and worked on something," Bell said. "He took the chance and the risk to throw a pitch that he hasn’t thrown as much when he probably didn’t have to have it or really need it. And it’s made him better.”

The Reds will go into 2023 with a rotation expected to include Lodolo, Hunter Greene and Graham Ashcraft as the trio heads into their sophomore season. With 103 1/3 innings pitched, Lodolo felt he would be able to provide much more next year.

"I feel like right now I can still keep pitching. I’m looking forward to it," Lodolo said. "Going into this offseason ready to get after it, learn some stuff."