
Cincinnati Reds prospect Rhett Lord is losing no time proving he belongs within the main leagues.
The 22-year-old right-hander shall be on the lookout for his first win when the Reds go to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday to open a three-game sequence.
Lord (0-1, 0.87 ERA) pitched 6 1/2 scoreless innings Thursday in opposition to the Astros in his second main league begin. He helped Houston get 4 hits and 4 walks, placing out three within the Reds’ 1-0 win.
Lord has made a fast transition from faculty baseball to skilled baseball. He began his profession this season after coming to the Reds from Wake Forest with the seventh general choose within the 2023 draft.
He made 5 begins in Class A, 16 begins in Double-A and only one begin in Triple-A earlier than graduating to affix the Reds. In his main league debut, he allowed one run in 4 innings on August 30 in a loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
“It is nice to be right here. I do not actually attempt to set a timetable for myself,” Lord mentioned. “I really feel prefer it’s out of my management. All I can do is exit and attempt to put collectively an excellent begin and an excellent innings, and it occurs proper now. This expertise is big. I simply need to Vomit out as a lot as doable.
It labored properly for the Astros.
“He is proven, positively, that he is prepared to return out right here and make large performs for us and do it in a means that reveals he is aware of how one can pitch,” Reds coach David Bell mentioned.
Cincinnati catcher Tyler Stephenson added, “You’ll be able to inform he is a really mature, superb faculty pitcher simply from the way in which he handles himself. Altering pitches, mixing up speeds, hitting all of the spots.”
The Reds (70-75) beat the Atlanta Braves 1-0 on Monday for his or her sixth win in eight video games, as Nick Martinez, Fernando Cruz and Alexis Diaz mixed for 2 hits Hits.
The Cardinals (72-71) have misplaced two of their first three video games at residence to the Seattle Mariners. They misplaced to the Los Angeles Dodgers for the primary time since August 16-18.
St. Louis will counter Lord with Andre Palant (6-7, 4.07 ERA), who’s working to solidify his spot within the rotation this season and past.
Pallant’s command was poor in his most up-to-date recreation, a 9-3 loss to Milwaukee on Sept. 2. 5 hits, together with two residence runs.
Previous to that loss, Palant had allowed simply seven runs (6 ERA) in 25 1/3 innings in his earlier 4 begins.
He believes he relied an excessive amount of on his four-seam fastball in opposition to the Brewers.
“This should not be the principle promotion,” Palant mentioned. “Pitching 5 pitches in a row – any pitch – is a nasty concept, particularly one which’s not my greatest pitch.
“I am really extra annoyed that I do not throw my (two-seam) fastball to right-handers. That is a extremely necessary pitch to me. That is the largest factor I’ve modified. It offers I had numerous success this 12 months.
He’ll attempt to get again on monitor in opposition to the Reds, a group he as soon as dominated: 5-0 with a 1.31 ERA in 14 video games (4 begins). This 12 months, Palant earned two begins in opposition to Cincinnati, totaling 11 1/3 scoreless innings whereas placing out 9 and strolling six.
The Cardinals hope to have second baseman Brendan Donovan again for Tuesday’s recreation. He missed the primary two video games with a foot an infection.
The Reds’ second baseman might also return. Jonathan India exited Sunday’s recreation with left elbow soreness and didn’t play on Monday.
–Scene-level media