Nick Lodolo makes his 2026 debut but the Reds lose their eighth in a row

Nick Lodolo isn't just another pitcher. Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona rates him as one of the best in baseball, and he returned for the club May 8 to make his 2026 MLB debut. Lodolo, coming off a career-best 156 2/3 innings with two complete games in 2025, figured to be key for Cincinnati at the outset of a 2026 season in which the club prepared for weeks to begin the campaign without ace Hunter Greene, who had surgery in March.

Lodolo got sidetracked on the day the Reds broke spring training camp in Goodyear, Arizona. In unseasonably extreme heat, Lodolo suffered a blister that sent him to the injured list. Then, he first attempt at rehabbing was cut short with the blister returned.

His last rehab stint went well, and the blister didn't return over starts with High-A Dayton and Triple-A Louisville. Those outings gave way to his 2026 debut with the Reds, which lasted 5 1/3 innings and 78 pitches. "It’ll be good, and it’ll be even better as we get him into the routine and he’s going every five or six days, and let him — hopefully, there’s not a lot of rust to shake off but get him to where he’s pitching every five days," Francona said.

"That’ll be really good... He’s one of the better pitchers, I think, in the game, so we haven’t had him and we missed him. " Lodolo allowed 22 home runs during what some considered a breakout 2025 season.