By Hal McCoy
The Arizona Serpientes (Diamondbacks) scored five runs on eight hits before the Cincinnati Reds had a hit Friday night in Chase Field.
And that’s all one needs to know about what transpired, a 9-0 Arizona victory.
While the Diamondbacks were banging out 15 hits, the Reds’ anemic offense produced four hits, all singles and one was an infield hit.
Cincinnati starter Nick Lodolo was a human batting practice machine.
It took him 91 pitches to record 10 outs, the same number of hits he gave up in 3 1/3 innings. The D-backs scored six runs in those 3 1/3 innings and they stole everything but the rosin bag — four stolen bases against Lodolo.
The Reds scoring runs in the first five innings is as rare as a lunar eclipse.
It was the fourth straight games during which the Reds did not score a run in the first five innings and it was the 13th time they’ve been shutout, tied for most in MLB.
They’ve also suffered 30 blowout losses, defeats by five or more runs.
They’ve fallen a season-worst 19 games behind the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers, something they’ve become accustomed to over the last decade.
In those 10 years, they have been out of first place by a combined 195 games, an average of 19 1/2 games out of first place.
Eight of nine Diamonbacks had hits, with Jordan Lawlar collecting three, including a two-run home run. Geralo Perdomo also had three and Gabriel Moreno extended his hitting streak to 14 games with singles in the first and second innings.
The Reds? It is not a fast-moving passenger train lineup, it’s a chugging freight train.
Their first hit came in the fourth, a leadoff infield hit by Sal Stewart. Dane Myers followed with a single to center and the Reds had runners on second and first with no outs.
But Eugenio Suarez, returning to where he played in 2024 and half of 2025, flied to right, Matt McLain grounded into a fielder’s choie and JJ Bleday struck out.
The Reds’ other two hits came in the next inning, the fifth, one-out singles by TJ Friedl and Ke’Bryan Hayes, but Elly De La Cruz hit into a double play.
Friedl’s single broke his 0-for-30 slide and he was only in the game due to an injury.
In the first inning, left fielder Michael Toglia made a diving catch on Perdomo’s line drive, but separated his right shoulder on the play.
“They put it back in place and there is some thought that he might be OK,” said Reds manager Tito Francona. “That seems hard to imagine, but we’ll see how he feels tomorrow and go from there.”
After the fifth, the only baserunners all came with two outs — a walk to Suarez in the sixth, a hit by pitch to Friedl in the seventh and a walk to Myers in the eighth.
The Reds were completely harmless against Arizona starter Eduardo Rodriguez and his tantalizing change-us. En route to raising his record to 13-4, he held the Reds to four hits over 5 2/3 innings.
Denny Santana, Justin Martinez and Taylor Clark held the Reds hitless over the final 3 1/3 innings.
One positive note from the Cincinnati side was the relief work of Julian Garcia. He saved heavy bullpen usage by following Lodolo with 2 2/3 innings. He retired eight of the nine hitters he faced, walking one.
Corbin Carroll singled with one out in the first, stole second and scored on Moreno’s single.
The first three batters in the second hit safely, including Lawlar’s two-run homer during the three-run inning.
Lodolo retired the first two in the third, then Lawlar singled, Jose Fernandez walked and Ryan Waldshmidt singles for a run and it was 4-0.
Carroll doubled to open the fourth and scored on Perdomo’s single to make it 5-0 and Lodolo was finished.
His pitch count mounted because of all the hits and he went to three-ball counts on seven hitters.
“He was having trouble locating, obviously,” said Francona. “Then they started runnings (four steals) and we were trying to eliminate that.
“But he was having a tough time commanding, as it is,” he added. “It just kinda sped up on a lot of things and he wasn’t throwing the ball where he wanted to.”
Garcia, though, was something with which Francona was pleased.
“Oh, my goodness,” he said. “That kid saved us. I hope we win tomorrow and then I’ll tell him, ‘Thank you.’ That was really something.”