Cincinnati isn't walking in feeling great either. The Reds dropped their series with St. Louis with an ugly finale, and the offense has been maddeningly inconsistent — good for six runs one night, shut out the next. Hunter Greene's second Tommy John surgery this month is a gut punch for a rotation that was already running thin before Lodolo takes his turn.
Cincinnati Reds at Arizona Diamondbacks
Fri Aug 216:40 PM MST
By JR·1 min read
TLDR: Two teams stuck around .500 with wild-card hopes on the line meet at Chase Field, and Arizona's walking in short a franchise player after a strange few days.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 CIN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
 ARI | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | 9 | 15 | 0 |
Cincinnati Reds
- Took 2 of the first 5 from St. Louis despite the skid
- Lodolo's last start was clean: 5 IP, 0 ER
- Lost the finale in a shootout, 9-10
- Hunter Greene done for the year after second Tommy John
Arizona Diamondbacks
- Rodriguez is 12-4 with a 2.71 ERA, one of the NL's steadier arms
- Won their last game before this set
- Marte just landed on the IL after a strange absence
- Gurriel Jr. also out, lineup depth thinned
Nick Lodolo takes the ball for Cincinnati against Eduardo Rodriguez, and on paper it's not close — Rodriguez has been one of the more reliable arms in the league all year while Lodolo is still hunting for the version of himself that misses bats consistently. First pitch is 6:40 PM MT.
Nick Lodolo
(3-3)·5.08 ERA
Aug 16 vs Marlins
ND
5.0IP
0ER
2K
2BB
73P
08/21 Lineup
Eduardo Rodriguez
(14-5)·2.59 ERA
Aug 15 @ Braves
W
6.0IP
2ER
5K
0BB
96P
08/21 Lineup
The bigger story in Arizona has nothing to do with the pitching matchup. Ketel Marte missed time with what the club initially called a personal issue before it turned into a trip back to Phoenix for knee imaging, and he's now been moved to the 10-day injured list with inflammation. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is already out too, so the lineup card Torey Lovullo turns in this weekend won't look like the one that's carried Arizona for most of the summer.