WASHINGTON (AP) — Nick Lodolo went the distance and kept the Cincinnati Reds as the only team in the majors that hasn’t been swept this season.
Lodolo threw a four-hitter for his first career shutout and the Reds snapped a three-game losing streak, including the first two games of their series at Washington, with a 5-0 win in the finale against the Nationals on Wednesday.
“We needed a win. … I don’t care how,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “Some games feel like they bigger than others. They’re not, but they feel like it. But I’m glad we won today that’s what we came for.”
The Reds (53-50), who have an off day Thursday, have played 33 series this season without being swept to set a franchise record. It was the fifth time this year they won the finale after losing the first two in a three-game series.
Cincinnati took two out of three at the New York Mets coming out of the All-Star break to match the 32 series in a row by the 1970 Reds, who went on to win the first of five National League pennants in a seven-season span capped by back-to-back World Series titles in 1975 and ’76. That 1970 team was swept in two games at the Chicago Cubs in its 33rd series of the season.
Lodolo (8-6) struck out eight without a walk, throwing 76 of his career-high 105 pitches for strikes. The Reds have won seven of his nine starts since the beginning of June.
“Lodolo showed up big for us to be able to come out here and, you know, obviously not get swept, but just kind of get us back on track to feeling like what we feel like we can do as a ball club,” right fielder Jake Fraley said. “He’s a phenomenal ball player. He’s been pitching his butt off all year. And this is just another start that he’s been doing all year.”
It was the first time in Lodolo’s 68 career starts that the 27-year-old left-hander pitched into the ninth inning, and the first time he went at least seven innings in back-to-back starts. It was his second career complete game, but the other was a rain-shortened 4-2 win in six innings over Minnesota on June 18.
“I got the rainout CG, but now I got a real one,” Lodolo said. “It’s pretty cool. I feel like I had everything kind of working for the most part. Good defense, I got some early outs that helped me stay in the game that long.”
Cincinnati took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, when Elly Del La Cruz had a leadoff walk, stole second base and scored on Fraley’s single. It stayed that way until the Reds added two runs in the eighth before center fielder Jacob Young’s inning-ending leaping catch at the wall to take a homer away from Will Benson.
“I know the score ended up 5-0. That wasn’t a 5-0 game, that was 1-0, (Lodolo) had to pitch through that for the majority of the game,” Francona said. “I thought as the game went he got stronger, which is a really good sign. You know, his breaking ball has been a weapon. And as he holds his velocity the entire game he threw strikes. He just really pitched a great game.”
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