GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Reds top prospect Nick Lodolo emerged from the bullpen in the top of the ninth inning to face the D-backs on Tuesday, and he calmly jogged to the mound.

No butterflies. No jitters. Just baseball.

Lodolo, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the organization’s No. 1 prospect and the Majors' No. 48 overall, gave up two runs on two hits -- one of them Kevin Cron’s two-run home run -- and struck out two during a 10-2 loss to Arizona.

“I felt really confident coming into it,” Lodolo said. “It’s funny, it’s the same thing Caleb [Cotham, the assistant pitching coach] asked. Was I nervous? I wasn’t nervous. I came in and I thought I threw pretty well, other than the pitch Cron got up.”

The Reds, who used the seventh overall selection in the 2019 Draft to take Lodolo out of Texas Christian University, felt comfortable enough with his maturity to invite him to big league camp for his first professional Spring Training. That has allowed him to work with the Major League coaching staff, including pitching coach Derek Johnson and Cotham.

Lodolo posted a 2.45 ERA in eight starts combined with rookie-level Billings and Class A Dayton last season. Over 18 1/3 innings, he had zero walks and 30 strikeouts.

Still, the club didn’t want to push the 22-year-old left-hander too hard and intentionally chose to delay his spring debut until the latter half of camp. He threw two sessions of live batting practice and numerous bullpen sessions before Tuesday.

“Obviously, you get anxious,” said Lodolo, who was among Tuesday evening’s roster cuts but could arrive in the Majors as soon as late 2020 or '21. “You want to throw, and you see everyone else throwing. Really, I’m glad I did it. I actually learned more doing that. I got more time later on throwing bullpens with DJ and Caleb one-on-one. I think I benefited from that. [l learned] really how I’m attacking stuff and all that in my bullpens. I can’t say I’ve learned much from game experience because that was my first one.”

Lodolo opened his outing with a 2-0 count to Galli Cribbs but worked back into a 2-2 count and induced what appeared to be a routine grounder to second base. From his knee, Jonathan India let the ball bounce off his glove. Initially called an error, the play was later changed to an infield single for Cribbs. Next was Cron, who crushed a 1-2 fastball to left field for a no-doubt homer. That didn’t shake Lodolo’s confidence.

“Really, I just kept telling myself, ‘Just keep going.’ It’s the first outing of spring,” Lodolo said.

Next batter Alek Thomas struck out on three pitches, with a fastball for the called third strike. On a 2-2 pitch, Geraldo Perdomo grounded out to second base, and Lodolo finished by striking out José Herrera with a 2-2 off-speed pitch.

As Lodolo walked off the field, infielder Blake Trahan waited with a fist bump just outside the dugout. Inside, there were more fist bumps and applause from teammates and coaches.

“I thought he did good,” said bench coach Freddie Benavides, who managed the split-squad team. “After the home run, he came back, showed some composure and got the next three guys out. He’s a strike thrower; that’s what he’s always been. It’s good to see him bounce back.”