Abbott's continued resurgence includes 6 scoreless frames, 3 K's of Yordan

CINCINNATI – For a Major League pitcher, it’s all about feeling comfortable on the mound. And Andrew Abbott looks like he has found his groove at just the right time for the Reds.

With the pitching staff looking for some stability with the shoulder issues of starters Brandon Williamson and Rhett Lowder, the left-handed Abbott has stepped up and reverted to the form that landed him on the 2025 National League All-Star squad.

Abbott (2-2) tossed six scoreless innings while Elly De La Cruz collected three hits to lead the Reds past the Astros, 5-0, in the rubber game Sunday at Great American Ball Park.

Nothing spoke louder to Abbott’s return to form on Sunday than how he handled one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball.

Abbott fanned Yordan Alvarez – the most dangerous and productive hitter in the Houston lineup – three times and didn’t allow a runner to reach second. Abbott allowed just three singles and one walk while striking out five and tossing 85 pitches (55 strikes). He had full command of his curve and his sweeper, both of which complemented his well-placed fastball perfectly all day.

To fool a hitter like Alvarez takes some doing, considering Alvarez is batting .318 with 10 doubles, 13 homers, 29 RBIs, 24 walks and a 1.064 OPS, ranking first in the American League in extra-base hits (23), second in on-base percentage (.422) and slugging (.642) and third in batting average.

“He’s a great hitter, and I don’t want to make a mistake to him,” Abbott said. “But I’m going to play to my strengths and use that to my advantage, and spinning it is one of the best things I do. So really, it was get ahead and then try to [give] him three chances to chase my pitch. And it was a curveball for two [strikeouts] and a sweeper for the last one. He’s a great hitter. It was just my day today.”

“I’ll tell you what, you’re not going to see that very often,” Reds manager Terry Francona said of Abbott’s trifecta against Alvarez. “That kid is some kind of hitter. I mean, you kind of marvel like he’s so good, big guy like that, and you know he’s not going to get a lot of infield hits. He doesn’t strike out very much normally. You’re not going to see that too often.”

Tejay Antone, Sam Moll and Graham Ashcraft each pitched a scoreless inning to finish off the game.

Abbott ran his scoreless innings streak to 16 2/3 since he allowed two runs in the first inning against the Rockies on April 30.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt when your defense is making big plays behind you, like first baseman Spencer Steer’s catch of Christian Walker’s foul pop to end the top of the first, when Steer disappeared down the Reds’ dugout steps. Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes backhanded a sharp grounder off the bat of Nick Allen to end the top of the fifth.

“He was going to keep going to the weight room and just hop on a bike and keep going,” Abbott joked of Steer’s play. “Yeah, they've stepped up big for me. Key’s diving play to end one inning, and then Steer, and all the outfield plays. Guys step up in big ways. And I think we feed off the energy. So as long as I'm in the zone and can get quick outs, those guys feed off that as well.”

What made this so satisfying was that Abbott worked through the struggles of the first six starts, when he was 0-2 with a 6.59 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .319. He went back to the drawing board – more specifically, the biometrics classroom with pitching coach Derek Johnson to make sure he was taking a more direct path to the plate with his delivery.

“I'm getting there,” Abbott said. “I still have a few things to iron out. Of course, you know to never get complacent in the game. But today was definitely a good step against a really good offense, a really veteran-heavy team. I was able to make pitches. Yeah, I feel like I'm getting close to getting back in there, but just continue to work. Every game is different. So we just got to keep answering the bell.”