Rhett Lowder strikes out six Brewers in loss

Lowder made it through the first inning without any trouble, but gave up a leadoff homer to Jazz Chisholm in the second inning. That was just the start of what turned into a rough inning for Lowder, who then walked back-to-back batters, which set the table for Ben Rice, who smacked a three-run homer to put the Yankees up 4-0. Lowder wouldn’t allow another run the rest of the way, but the damage had been done, and his offense didn’t offer him any support against Yankees starter Cam Schlittler. It’s only the third time this season that Lowder has allowed four or more earned runs in a start, but he’s also struggled to pitch deep into games as of late. We’ll see if he can turn things around in his next start, which is scheduled for Wednesday against the Brewers.

Lowder served up a solo homer to Corbin Carroll in the first inning. He then settled in nicely, scattering four more hits and two walks as he pitched into the sixth without allowing another run. He’d depart with two outs in the sixth with six strikeouts. The 24-year-old right-hander will carry a 4.60 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and a 37/25 K/BB ratio across 47 innings into a start against the Yankees in New York on Friday.

Lowder gave up one hit, walked five and struck out four. He threw 70 pitches in what was his first start since he went on the injured list for shoulder pain in early May. It was a bit of a mixed bag considering he walked five batters and was only able to complete three innings. He has a 5.01 ERA. Lowder is lined up to face the Diamondbacks at home next weekend.

As anticipated, Lowder will make his return to the Reds’ rotation on Sunday against the Cardinals. He has been shelved since May 13 due to pain in his pitching shoulder. The 24-year-old hurler holds an uninspiring 5.40 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and a 27/18 K/BB ratio over 38 1/3 innings in eight starts for the Reds this season.

Lowder gets the ball this weekend after striking out eight and allowing three runs over five innings during his final minor league rehab start for Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday. The 24-year-old former top pitching prospect posted a serviceable 5.40 ERA across eight starts this season before hitting the injured list with a shoulder issue back on May 13.

Lowder gave up six hits and didn’t hand out a free pass, throwing 70 pitches (50 strikes) over five frames. The 24-year-old averaged 94.1 mph on his sinker and 94.5 mph on his four-seam fastball, which is an extremely encouraging sign. He’s on track to return to Cincinnati’s rotation for a road start against the Cardinals on Sunday.

Lowder will make a minor league rehab start for Triple-A Louisville next week. The 24-year-old rookie could rejoin Cincinnati’s rotation shortly afterwards since he wasn’t shut down from throwing for very long after hitting the injured list with shoulder pain back on May 13. He should be ready to return to the Reds rotation by mid-June.

Six days after leaving his start against the Cubs, Lowder finally lands on the IL. The Reds seem optimistic that he won’t be out for long. Lowder has a 5.40 ERA in eight starts this season, though he was at 3.18 before the last two of those.

Francona didn’t discuss the results of the right-hander’s MRI results though he did note that Lowder will continue to throw, just “not quite off the mound yet”. Based on that, you’d assume that the results were encouraging and didn’t show any structural damage. Either way he’ll miss at least a couple of weeks though.

Reds’ manager Terry Francona described it as more of a clicking noise that Lowder’s shoulder was making during Thursday’s start and noted that the 24-year-old hurler thought that he could stay in the game and pitch through it. They’ll know more after getting the results of the MRI, but it seems likely that Lowder will be ticketed for the injured list.