CINCINNATI -- Starting pitcher Nick Lodolo is still seeking to produce the kind of vintage performances for the Reds where he gets on a roll and becomes one of the hardest pitchers to face in baseball.
Lodolo's latest start on Wednesday wasn't undone by hard contact and home runs from the Mets, and he wasn't wild or destroying himself with walks. It was instead a barrage of good enough contact and not enough execution of pitches for a 9-1 defeat that prevented a three-game series sweep at Great American Ball Park.
Since returning May 8 from a blister on his left index finger that put him on the injured list for a third straight season, Lodolo is 2-2 with a 6.12 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in eight starts, and the Reds have a 2-6 record when he pitches.
“It’s certainly nice having him back. And as he pitches with health, you’re going to see him get closer and closer, because he’s good," manager Terry Francona said before the game. "As long as he’s healthy, you’re going to look up, and he’s going to be OK.”
Lodolo allowed 11 hits -- including 10 singles -- that led to seven runs over 4 2/3 innings with two walks and two strikeouts.
“It counts, so I’ve got to find a way to stop it," Lodolo said of all the singles.
Lodolo initially dodged trouble as he picked up a double play in each of his first two innings. In the third inning, Luis Torrens led off with a chopper to third base and beat the throw for an infield hit. With two outs, Lodolo couldn't keep his finger on the dam any longer.
After a four-pitch walk to Bo Bichette, Lodolo had an 0-2 count on Juan Soto when he hit an outside curveball off the end of the bat for a bloop RBI single into center field that scored the game's first run.
“He’s a good hitter. Instead of striking out, he’ll do that," Francona said. "He’ll take his shots to hit the ball a long way, but he also can hit the ball to left field or stay on it enough to get a hit.”
Marcus Semien followed with an RBI single to left field, and Mark Vientos did likewise for a 3-0 Mets lead. It took Lodolo 33 pitches to work through the third inning.
In the fifth inning, the Mets collected three straight one-out singles, followed by a sacrifice fly and a two-out single. Lodolo's final batter, A.J. Ewing, hit a two-run double to make it a 7-1 game.
“I’d like swing-and-miss. I wasn’t getting any swing-and-miss there," Lodolo said. "I haven’t really looked on executions of pitches on that. There were definitely some hit hard, some weren’t. That’s the game.”
According to data via Statcast, there could be some factors contributing to Lodolo's issues. Entering the day, his ground-ball rate had dropped to a career-low 40 percent and the barrel rate has dropped from the 52nd percentile to a sub-standard 18th percentile.
Meanwhile, Lodolo's strikeout percentage has dropped from 24.3 percent to 17.5 percent.
Why is this happening? Lodolo's pitches haven't been as effective. His biggest decline in whiff percentage has been his changeup. In-zone whiffs on that pitch have dipped from 17 percent to 5 percent. For his four-seam fastball, opponents entered Wednesday batting .300 with a .600 slugging percentage on the heater compared to .209 and .418 last season.
“Yeah, it’s definitely something we talked about this last week, trying to get better," Lodolo said. "But I think it starts with location. It’s something I just got to get better at. And I need to this week, for sure. Overall, there’s plenty of other things too that I feel like I, obviously today, didn’t do a good job of.”
Not having those pitches has kept Lodolo from getting to his slider that often turns right-handed hitters into knots while striking out.
“I’m just not getting myself into a spot to do that, and when I am, I’ve got to execute," he said.
There have been only two quality starts this year for Lodolo, which included his best start so far against the same Mets on May 25 at Citi Field. In that game, the lefty gave up one run over six innings with six hits, no walks and seven strikeouts. He'd like to get deeper into games to give himself a better chance.
“If you do things like, for example, get ahead, and you’re on the attack the whole time, you’re going to do that," Lodolo said. "That’s something I haven’t done a great job of and why I feel like I’m in the position I’m in.”