Reds bullpen coughs up lead, spoils Nick Lodolo's gem in walk-off loss to Phillies

PHILADELPHIA – After Nick Lodolo shut down the Philadelphia Phillies lineup for seven innings Saturday, the Cincinnati Reds bullpen couldn’t hold onto a two-run lead in the ninth inning.

Alexis Díaz, who struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth inning, gave up two hits and a walk to spark the Phillies’ rally. Ian Gibaut replaced Díaz with a one-run lead and runners on the corners, and he gave up a game-tying sacrifice fly on his first pitch.

Two batters after Gibaut entered the game, Bryson Stott hit a walk-off single to right field to leave the Reds with a 3-2 loss and their biggest gut punch of the young season.

The loss spoiled a gem from Lodolo. Pitching in front of a sellout crowd of 44,526 at Citizens Bank Park, facing a lineup that won the 2022 National League pennant and signed a $300 million shortstop in the offseason, Lodolo twirled seven shutout innings while striking out a career high 12 batters.

Somehow, it still wasn’t enough.

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With a runner on second base and one out, Stott hit a ground ball single into right field and right fielder Wil Myers was unable to field it cleanly for a Hail Mary attempt at the plate as the Phillies stormed out of their dugout to mob Stott.

Spencer Steer gave Lodolo a lead before he took the mound after he crushed a 438-foot homer to dead center in the first inning against Phillies lefty starter Bailey Falter. Jake Fraley gave the Reds an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning with a sacrifice fly, but the bullpen couldn’t make it stick.  

The Phillies had no answers for the lefthanded Lodolo. They had one runner touch third base against him, but Lodolo overpowered some of the best hitters in the sport with his mix of fastballs, curveballs and changeups. Lodolo was the first Reds lefty to strike out 12 batters in a start since Amir Garrett on April 19, 2017.

Takeaways from Saturday’s Reds-Phillies game

1. It was Lodolo’s third career start with a double-digit strikeout total. He struck out at least one batter in all seven innings, including three in the first inning and three in the fourth. Part of it was working ahead in counts by throwing a first-pitch strike to 17 of his 27 batters. The other part was just his stuff was really, really good.

Phillies batters whiffed on seven of their 20 swings against his fastball, an impressive number for any pitcher’s fastball, and six of their 19 swings when they saw his curveball.

2. The Reds wanted to be an aggressive team on the basepaths, but they haven’t been overly successful in that area. Stuart Fairchild, one of the fastest players on the team, didn’t attempt to steal against Falter – and catcher J.T. Realmuto – after he hit a leadoff single in the second inning.

TJ Friedl attempted to steal with one out in the seventh inning, but it turned into a double play when Jake Fraley flew out to right field. Friedl lost track of the ball and was running to third when the Phillies completed the double play at first base.

The Phillies moved their game-winning run into scoring position when Brandon Marsh stole second base in the ninth inning.

3. Tyler Stephenson pushed his hitting streak to a career-high seven games with a single to left field in the first inning. The Reds are committed to their plan limiting his number of games behind the plate, which should give him a realistic chance to play 140 or more games. Saturday was his fourth start of the season as the team’s designated hitter.

Stephenson, who added another single in the sixth inning, raised his career batting average above .300 with the two-hit game.

Stat of the day

Lodolo became the Reds' first lefthanded pitcher to toss at least seven scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts in a game since Tom Hall on May 14, 1972 vs. St. Louis. Johnny Vander Meer accomplished the feat five times.