Singer, Lodolo's blister issues throwing wrinkle in Reds' rotation plans

MILWAUKEE -- The Reds are hoping that blister issues won’t derail plans for the rotation heading into the season.

Brady Singer, who is slated to start Sunday against Boston, pitched four innings in the first of two exhibition games against the Brewers in Milwaukee on Monday.

The 29-year-old right-hander left his start vs. the Rockies last Wednesday after 51 pitches due to a blister on his right index finger, perhaps as a result of a premature Arizona heatwave that saw temperatures jump to above 100 degrees. Singer appeared to experience no issues related to the blister in Monday’s 78-pitch outing.

After retiring the side in order in the first, Singer was tagged for three hits and three runs in the second before Brice Turang connected for a solo homer in the third. The Brewers tacked on another pair of runs in the fourth off Singer.

All told, Singer gave up six hits and six runs (five earned) in four innings. He walked one and struck out three.

“I’d love for him to just be healthy. That's the biggest thing,” manager Terry Francona said. “He's proven. You're going to look up and he's going to have 170 innings.”

The Reds, however, are being cautious with left-hander Nick Lodolo, who was lifted in his final Cactus League tune-up before the Reds broke camp in Arizona after just 10 pitches due to a blister on his left index finger. Lodolo has dealt with a blister on the same finger each of the past two seasons.

Francona said Lodolo, who is expected to play catch on Tuesday, could stay on schedule to make his first start of the season on Saturday, but he described that scenario as “the longest shot.” Lodolo could also be pushed to the back of the rotation or land on the injured list, which would mean he’d miss the first 12 days of the season.

“The IL is not the greatest option, but what we don't want to do is pitch him and then lose him for three weeks,” Francona said. “We're not rushing him to the IL. We'll see how it goes. He’s a different case than Singer, just in the fact that he's got a track record [for blisters].”

The Reds had been set to open the season with six starting pitchers on their 26-man roster, including a trio that would be used in a tandem situation. Whether those plans come to fruition remains to be seen.

“This is going to be an interesting first week because everybody's been kind of short, so we're going to have to keep an eye on things,” Francona said Monday. “You can't just expect somebody to go out and throw 100 pitches, especially their first time out, because they're all going to be revved up.”

Francona welcomed the opportunity to play exhibition games at American Family Field, with its retractable roof, as the team prepares for its season opener at Great American Ball Park on Thursday.

“The reason I wanted to do it was because we're one of the few teams, because we share a complex, so we don't hit in the stadium. We hit on backfields the whole spring, for [batting practice],” he said. “So, getting into a stadium is good for our guys. It's a good transition into playing. I like it and you want to be guaranteed you’re going to play. Everybody's like, ‘Why do you want to play Milwaukee, you play them so much.’ Well, there's a dome and we're going to play and it's on the way home.”