ARLINGTON -- Young Reds starting pitcher Rhett Lowder doesn't have the power arm and triple-digit velocity that garners adjectives like "electric." Who needs electricity when simply changing speeds and locating does the trick?
Lowder dealt six scoreless innings in a strong performance as Cincinnati took a 2-0 victory over the Rangers to claim the first two games of the three-game series at Globe Life Field. The right-hander gave up three hits -- all singles -- with two walks and four strikeouts.
“In an era where you kind of grip it and rip it, he can go to different quadrants and he doesn’t have to throw 95, 96. He just looks like a veteran who knows what he’s doing," Reds manager Terry Francona said. “Even tonight when he pitched behind in the count, he doesn’t have to come in with a fastball. He can throw something that changes eye levels. He can spin it down low, below their barrel."
It was the first quality start from a Reds pitcher since Andrew Abbott threw six scoreless innings in a losing cause vs. the Red Sox on Opening Day.
“He’s a great pitcher. He knows where his stuff is going," catcher Jose Trevino said. "He has an idea of how to use his tools, how to use his weapons. He can throw any pitch at any time.”
According to Lowder, the performance wasn't feeling all that smooth.
“Honestly, it was a grind," he said. "Me and Trevi were on the same page. He was doing a lot of hard work and I was trying to just get in the rhythm the best I could. But I credit him a lot for a good game plan and just making it easy on me trying to execute pitches.”
Of his 82 pitches (54 strikes), Lowder threw a nearly even distribution of sinkers, four-seam fastballs and sliders. His maximum velocity was 94 mph.
All four of Lowder's strikeouts were called strike threes on offspeed pitches -- one changeup and three sliders.
“They don’t chase a ton as a team all the way through," Lowder said. "I knew I had to be good with two strikes and not waste a ton of pitches because they’re going to swing at them.”
In the top of the first inning against Rangers starter Kumar Rocker, Matt McLain hit a one-out grounder that got by third baseman Josh Jung for a single. After McLain moved to second base on a wild pitch, Elly De La Cruz drove him in with an RBI single to left-center field.
De La Cruz was already breaking to steal second base when Sal Stewart sent a single into right field, and was able to score the inning's second run on the play.
That two-run lead proved enough for Lowder to work with. He was able to work around a pair of two-out singles in the first inning. Lowder also had some help behind him with several balls that were hit hard to the outfield and tracked down, namely by Will Benson in right field.
"We didn't have many guys in scoring position to do anything with tonight," Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. "[Lowder] pitched a good game. Their defense played good, made some good plays in the outfield. Benson ran down some balls that could have been extra-base hits, and we just couldn't get anything together after a couple hits or a walk or whatever."
It's worthy to note that only the defenses of the Reds and Astros have yet to make an error in 2026.
After Lowder departed, the bullpen trio of Graham Ashcraft, Tony Santillan and Emilio Pagán preserved the shutout over the final three innings. Pagán notched his third save despite allowing two walks.
“Any time you hold a team to nothing, you did a lot of good things," Francona said.
Although Lowder missed all of 2025 because of injuries to his right elbow and left oblique, he's picked up well from his impressive month in the big leagues at the end of the '24 season.
Through two starts this season, the 24-year-old Lowder has a 1.64 ERA. Through eight career big league starts, he has a 1.30 ERA. It's the lowest mark by a Red in that span since earned runs became an official stat in both leagues in 1913. It's also the fifth-lowest mark by any Major League pitcher (min. 30 IP) through his first eight career starts in the expansion era (since 1961).
“It’s pretty impressive," Trevino said. "His demeanor out there, his attitude towards it all, you could tell he’s going to be good for a long time.”