By Hal McCoy
If Cincinnati Reds pitcher Nick Lodolo is walking around today with Band-Aids all over his body, there is a reason — about 11 reasons.
The New York Mets nicked, scratched and cut Lodolo all over Great American Ball Park Wednesday afternoon on their way to a 9-1 crush job on the Reds.
Well, it wasn’t a true crush job, even the score says it is.
Lodolo gave up 11 hits and the first 10 were singles, most of them lofted softly over the infield or ground balls that sneaked between infielders.
And it didn’t help that neophyte center fielder Noelvi Marte played the position as if he feared there were snakes in the grass — a couple of catchable balls fell in front of him and he got twisted around on another catchbable ball that ended up being a triple.
For two innings it looked as if it was more of the same for the Mets, who lost the first two games of the series when they went 2 for 23 with runners in scoring position and stranded 23 runners.
Bo Bichette, who was 8 for 14 with three RBI and three runs scored during the three-game series, singled with one out in the first. But Juan Soto hit into a 4-6-3 double play.
Marcus Semien walked to open the second but Mark Vientos hit into a 1-4-3 double play.
In the third inning it was no more of one and the same.
The Mets scored three runs without hitting the ball harder than 64 miles an hour. And all three runs came with two outs.
It began with an infield hit to third base by Luis Torrens. Zack Short bunted Torrens to second and Carson Benge grounded out to short.
Two outs, runner on second, no runs scored.
Then. . .Bichette walked on four pitches. On an 0-and-2 count, Juan Soto reached out and poked a dying quail into center field and it was 1-0.
Marcus Semien rainbowed one over shortstop Matt McLain’s head for a single. Mark Vientos lobbed a soft single to left and it was 3-0.
Semiens’ two-run single came with the bases loaded after the Mets filled the bases five times in the first two games and went 0 for 8 and never scored.
The Mets added four runs in the fifth inning and chased Lodolo. It was four singles, a sacrifice fly and a two-run double by Springboro product A.J. Ewing, who made several above-the-norm outstanding catches in center field during the series.
“Yeah, it was nine or ten (10) singles, but they count,” said Lodolo. “I have to find a way to stop it.”
And how could he have stopped it?
“Obviously, I’d like a swing-and-miss, but I wasn’t getting any swing-and-miss there,” he added after striking out only two over his 4 2/3 innings. “There were defintely some not hit hard, but that’s the game, though.”
During New York’s three-run third inning, there was a mid-inning play at third base that should have been the third out with no runs scored, but third baseman Sal Stewart dropped the ball.
“‘That play at third. . .we don’t execute it and it probably cost us three runs and 19 or 20 pitches,” said Reds manager Tito Francona. “Lodolo was at 14 and he ended up throwing 33 that inning. That definitely wore him down because his fastball didn’t have much life after that.”
Meanwhile, the Reds were facing Nolan McLean and probably figured before the game, “Ok, oh boy, let’s go get him again.”
On May 25 in New York, Nolan McLean pitched like actor Nolan Gould against the Reds —3 1/3 innings, seven runs, five hits two walks and home runs by JJ Bleday and Tyler Stephenson.
The Reds rolled, 7-2.
Not this time. This time Nolan McLean pitched like Nolan Ryan — seven innings, one unearned run, three hits, one walk and nine strikeouts.
McLean was perfect in four of the first five innings, three up and three down.
He rattled a bit in the third inning after a one-out error put Jose Trevino on first base. Matt McLain doubled and Edwin Arroyo, batting leadoff for the first time, was his by a pitch.
The Reds had the bases loaded with one out but scored only once, a sacrifice fly by Bleday, then a third-out ground ball from Sal Stewert.
After that, McLean was back in style with a 1-2-3 fourth and three strtikeouts and a 1-2-3 fifth.
The Reds did put two on in the sixth — a one-out walk to Bleday and a two-out doublee to Stewart that put runners on third and second.
But Eugenio Suarez flied to right. After his two home runs and six RBI in Game One, Suarez went 0 for 8 with five strikeouts.
“We saw the better version,” said Francona, talking about McLean. “Everybody sees his velocity, but his breaking ball was really good. Last time in New York it was out of the zone. It was good today.”
After Lodolo left, relief pitcher Chris Paddack took one for the team. He pitched the final 4 1/3 innngs and gave up two runs and four hits.
And the two runs that made it 9-1 were a gift from Marte. Carson Benge led the eighth with a deep fly to center on which Marte did a piroutte and the ball whistled over his head for a triple.
Bichette’s third hit of the game drove home Benge and Bichette scored from first on Soto’s double, his third hit and second RBI.
All that did was make an ugly 7-1 score turn uglier at 9-1.