The Cincinnati Reds entered play against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday afternoon in Wrigley Field mired in an ugly 6-game losing streak. Said streak featured a Saturday game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in which they walked seven consecutive batters en route to a 17-7 loss, and the first three games of the series against the Cubs all had ended in walk-off losses.
They’d lost closer Emilio Pagan to a hamstring injury that could cost him two months. They chose to move lefty starter Brandon Williamson to the 60-day IL with what was originally considered just ‘shoulder fatigue,’ meaning he’ll be out until almost July.
Still, things found a way to somehow still get worse on Thursday, as starter Rhett Lowder – the same guy who was on the mound for many of those seven straight walks in Pittsburgh in his previous start – exited in the Bottom of the 4th with a trainer after walking back to back batters to start a second straight inning.
MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon relayed the news.
Yes, the Reds are going to get Nick Lodolo back tomorrow for the first time all year, but this is the kind of thing that’s going to seriously test their pitching depth. Chase Petty, thank heck, looked much improved from his dismal 2025 debut when getting what then seemed like a spot-start in the series opener against the Cubs, and we now get to wonder if he’ll be brought right back to the big leagues to help fill in for Lowder, should he need an extended absence.
Keep in mind that Williamson hitting the shelf is apparently at least partially related to the injuries he dealt with last season, as coming back full-steam after missing an entire year put too much stress on his shoulder. Lowder, too, basically missed all of 2025 with forearm and oblique issues, and it’s enough to wonder if pushing him back to full-go from the start in 2026 might have taxed something too much, too quickly.
We’ll find out soon. For now, the Reds get to find a way to claw themselves back into it after one of the worst weeks in recent memory.
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