Nick Lodolo was brilliant on Thursday afternoon as he dominated the Pirates, striking out 12 Pittsburgh hitters on the day while not giving up a run. But all didn’t go as planned as he exited the game with an injury in the 7th inning. Cincinnati was able to hold on for a win, but the Reds needed a huge catch from Noelvi Marte in the end to seal the victory.
FinalRHEPittsburgh Pirates (69-90)131Cincinnati Reds (81-78)2100W: Lodolo (9-8) L: Ashcraft (4-4) SV: Pagan (30)Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread
The first two innings were rather quiet for both teams at the plate. But in the bottom of the 3rd inning the Reds got a leadoff single from Ke’Bryan Hayes and a walk from TJ Friedl to put two men on with no outs. Cincinnati was unable to come through, though, as they struck out twice and a groundout ended the inning.
Nick Lodolo was rolling and he kept that going as he racked up 10 strikeouts through the 5th inning. The game was still scoreless, though, as the Reds offense wasn’t doing much on their end against Braxton Ashcraft. Ke’Bryan Hayes led off the bottom of the 5th with a single and TJ Friedl followed up with a double into the gap in right-center. Hayes was sent home and was called safe on a bang-bang play at the plate. Pittsburgh challenged the call and it was overturned and the game remained 0-0.
Four pitches later that was no longer the case as Noelvi Martie singled into center to plate Friedl, and Marte took second on the throw to the plate. Gavin Lux then came through with an RBI single of his own to pad the lead to 2-0 and send Ashcraft to the showers. Kyle Nicolas came on for the Pirates and got out of the inning with no further damage.
Lodolo headed back to the mound and added a strikeout in a scoreless 6th inning. When he returned for the 7th he struck out Andrew McCutchen to lead things off and give him 12 in the game. But on the first pitch he threw to Tommy Pham something wasn’t quite right and Jose Trevino called time to head to the mound and the dugout staff came along shortly thereafter and after a discussion Lodolo was removed from the game.
It was reported shortly after by Jim Day of FanDuel Sports Network that it was a groin-related issue that led to Lodolo exiting the game. Even after he left the game, though, he remained in the dugout rather than head to the clubhouse and trainers room. The Reds stated later during the game that the exit was “a precaution with a right groin injury”.
Ashcraft would get out of the 7th inning with Cincinnati still up 2-0. Tony Santillan took over in the 8th and would give up a run after Spencer Horwitz doubled to start the inning and later scored on a groundout to cut the Reds lead to one run.
After Cincinnati went down in order in the bottom of the 8th, Emilio Pagan took the mound for the top of the 9th to face the heart of the Pirates lineup. And the closer got plenty of help from Noevli Marte. A lazy fly out from Nick Gonzales began the inning but then Bryan Reynolds crushed a ball to right field, but Marte got to the wall and waited before leaping and robbing Reynolds of what would have been a game-tying home run.
One pitch later Andrew McCutchen also flew out to Marte – this time it was an easier catch and it ended the game.
Key Moment of the Game
Noelvi Marte robbing a home run in the 9th inning to keep the Reds up by a run.
Notes Worth Noting
Nick Lodolo noted in the postgame interview that he felt some tightening in his groin as the 7th inning progressed, but he was feeling fine at the moment of the interview postgame.
Reds pitching struck out 14 batters and had just one walk on the day while giving up just three hits. The Reds hitters had 10 hits and a walk on the day.
TJ Friedl, Gavin Lux, Miguel Andujar, and Ke’Bryan Hayes all had 2-hit days.
Nick Lodolo now has 156 strikeouts and just 29 walks on the season. His ERA dropped to 3.30 in 155.2 innings.
Emilio Pagan entered the year with 33 career saves. 20 of them came in the 2019 season with Tampa Bay. He recorded his 30th save of 2025 in this game.
The win by the Reds guarantees them a non-losing record. They are now 81-78 and heading to Milwaukee. New York will not play until tonight and hold what is currently a half-game lead over Cincinnati. Arizona, who entered the day with the same record as the Reds, trail 6-0 in the 4th inning to the Dodgers.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Milwaukee Brewers
Friday September 26th, 8:10pm ET
Zack Littell (10-8, 3.86 ERA) vs Quinn Priester (13-2, 3.25 ERA)
