Lodolo gets back in the win column with gritty quality start

CINCINNATI -- Nick Lodolo has been searching not only for success on the mound but also deeper starts that can help himself and the Reds get on track. On Sunday, Lodolo achieved his mission objectives.

The outcome was a much-needed 3-2 Cincinnati victory over the Orioles that salvaged the final game of the three-game series. Lodolo pitched strong for five innings and overcame trouble in the sixth. His good work was rewarded by Spencer Steer's two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth.

“You definitely need some things to bounce your way in a game for sure. The main thing I’m just happy with was the way I went about it today," Lodolo said. "That’s a lot more sustainable, going about it that way to set yourself up for success.”

Lodolo pitched six innings and allowed one earned run, six hits and two walks with four strikeouts while throwing 97 pitches.

Among the keys: Lodolo threw first-pitch strikes to 19-of-26 batters (73%). That included eight with his sinker and eight with his four-seam fastball. The left-hander also recorded eight of his outs with three or fewer pitches.

“I thought his stuff was crisp," manager Terry Francona said. "Sometimes, that’s a combination of throwing the ball over the plate and because his stuff is good, trying to ambush a first pitch. If you can stay off the barrel or get a sac fly and take the sting out a little bit, that really helps."

June was a winless month for Lodolo while the Reds lost all five of his starts as he was 0-1 with a 4.88 ERA. But none of his outings lasted longer than 5 1/3 innings and three were fewer than five frames.

“To get deeper in the games, we’ve got to be better at count control just as a whole," Lodolo said. "That was a big emphasis for me going into the day. It sets you up a lot better to do things that you want to do versus being on the defensive and trying to nitpick your way through it.”

For four innings, Orioles starting pitcher Kyle Bradish had 12 up, 12 down vs. the Reds, but his perfection ended with Eugenio Suárez drawing a leadoff walk in the fifth inning. Next came Steer, who lifted a 3-2 slider to the opposite field for a home run over the right-field fence and a 2-0 lead.

Lodolo carried a shutout into the top of the sixth but ran into trouble during a 28-pitch inning. Taylor Ward hit a one-out double to the gap in left-center field and Coby Mayo hit a two-out single that zinged past third baseman Sal Stewart to score Ward, ending Lodolo's streak of 14 scoreless innings over three starts.

Tension mounted further when Lodolo issued walked Tyler O'Neil and then walked Leody Taveras on a 3-2 sinker to load the bases after catcher Tyler Stephenson made an ABS challenge that narrowly was confirmed.

“It was like a hair off and I’m like, ‘Please don’t hurt us now.’ But he stayed at it and I thought he held his stuff pretty good," Francona said.

Lodolo struck out Jeremiah Jackson with a breaking ball to escape.

“I definitely got tired but you’ve got to bear down and make some pitches to get out of that," Lodolo said. "The game could get sideways out there and unfortunately, I’ve seen it. To make a pitch there, a good slider to Jackson to get out of it, it definitely feels good.”

Reds starters had a 6.75 ERA in the last seven games, with the club taking six losses.

The bullpen kept the lead intact with Brock Burke working a perfect seventh inning and Tejay Antone doing likewise in the eighth before closer Emilio Pagán got his first save opportunity since May 4.

“It’s what that group of pitchers are capable of," said Pagán, who endured a rocky bases-loaded jam in a one-run ninth for his seventh save. "When they’re getting deeper into games and getting guys extra days down between outings, setting up the matchups the way Tito and our coaching staff wants to.

"When we’re doing that, we’re a really, really tough team to beat. They’ll build more and more starts like that. They’re way too talented not to."

Bradish was still pitching into the eighth inning when the Reds notched an insurance run. Edwin Arroyo hit a one-out single to center field and scored on Stewart's two-out double down the left-field line.

“I’m glad we got that second run," Francona said. "Sal’s double was huge.”