Reds place Nick Lodolo (blister) on 15-day IL

It was Lodolo’s first start in over five weeks because of his blister issue, and it wasn’t a particularly good one. He didn’t walk anyone and did strike out five, but he allowed three homers in the outing before exiting after his four frames. Lodolo’s 2026 has been a disappointment both in terms of injury and results, and his ERA is now a bloated 4.86 on the season. His next chance to rebound comes Sunday versus the Marlins.

Lodolo returns to Cincinnati’s rotation following a nearly five-week absence due to a blister issue. The 28-year-old southpaw threw 65 pitches over 4 1/3 innings during his final minor league rehab outing for Triple-A Louisville last week, so there shouldn’t be any limitations from a workload standpoint when he takes the ball against the White Sox on Tuesday night. He boasts a lackluster 4.60 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 50/27 K/BB ratio across 62 2/3 innings over 12 starts this season.

Lodolo also walked two and struck out four while throwing 57 percent of his pitches for strikes. He posted a 12 percent swinging strike rate and sat 93.3 mph on his sinker, so his velocity looks good. The command of his changeup was an issue in this one, with just a 53 percent strike rate, and it’s still unclear which pitch(es) are causing the most issues with his blisters. Lodolo threw 65 pitches in his one, so he should make one more rehab start before returning.

Lodolo hit the injured list with a blister on his left index finger just prior to the All-Star break. The Reds are going to approach his situation with caution to avoid a potential setback. It’s unclear whether he’ll need a rehab start, but there’s a chance he’s ready to jump back into Cincinnati’s rotation at some point in early August.

He allowed two runs in five-plus innings against the Cubs. Lodolo already missed the first five weeks of this season with blister issues and also lost starts in 2023 and ’24. If this is another IL-type situation, the Reds could replace him in the rotation with Chase Petty.

Lodolo gave up one hit, walked four and struck out four. Injuries have limited the 28-year-old left-hander to just 10 starts so far this season. The bigger problem might be that Lodolo has a 5.05 ERA and 4.80 xFIP in those starts. Difficult to trust, Lodolo will face the Orioles at home this weekend.

Francona expressed optimism that Lodolo will be fine after taking a 108 mph comebacker off his left wrist during Tuesday’s start against the Brewers. It sounds like there’s a strong possibility he’s able to make his next start against Milwaukee on Monday.

Lodolo managed to stay in the contest initially after being hit by a 108 mph comebacker in the fourth inning, but didn’t end up coming back out for the next frame. The 28-year-old struck out six and allowed just three baserunners over four shutout frames. He’ll presumably head for X-rays to determine whether he suffered any fractures. There should be an update on his status following the game.

Lodolo should have gotten through the third scoreless, thanks to a baserunning mistake from Luis Torrens, but Sal Stewart couldn’t hold on to a throw at third, and the Mets went on to score three times in the inning. The other four runs came in the fifth, which featured four singles and a double to the wall in center that Noelvi Marte should have caught or at least made an attempt on. Lodolo averaged a season-low 93.2 mph with his sinker today, which certainly didn’t help matters, but he was also unlucky to give up seven hits on his curve and changeup without ever allowing a hard-hit ball on either. His ERA is up to 6.12, but the Reds will almost certainly stick with him and start him against the Brewers next week.

It was one of the better outings of the season for Lodolo, who struck out three batters through his first two innings of work. He struggled a bit with his command in this one, hitting three batters on the night. One of those hit batters was Jordan Lawlar, who would take his base after the HBP and later come around to score in the sixth inning to tie the game at 2-2. Lodolo continues to look better than the player we saw earlier in the season, showing better command of the strike zone while also allowing just three earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts. We’ll see if he can string together another good start on Wednesday when he takes on the Mets.