CINCINNATI — The Reds have a shot at becoming the first team in the modern era of Major League Baseball to hit 100 batters, setting a new record with 99 in 2022 on Tuesday.
Reds rookie starter Nick Lodolo hit three Red Sox batters in Tuesday’s game to break the record set by the Cubs last season. The previous highs were 95 batters hit in 2003 and 94 in 2002, both by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Lodolo hit Red Sox first baseman Rob Refsnyder in the second inning and then hit Enrique Hernández and Yu Chang in back-to-back plate appearances in the fourth inning to tie and break the Cubs’ record.
In his previous two starts, Lodolo struck out 11 batters and didn’t walk anyone, but hit batters in both games. Reds catcher Austin Romine explained that one reason the left-handed Lodolo has hit so many batters is that his breaking ball fools right-handed batters who think it’s a strike until it breaks to their back foot. All three of his hit batters in Tuesday’s game were to the back foot of right-handed batters.
“Righties have trouble with it,” Romine said following Lodolo’s start against the Pirates last week. “It looks like it’s going to stop and break down and it just keeps chasing them inside. Some of these guys are swinging at curveballs that almost hit their back leg. That tells you something right there that he’s got a really good breaker.”
A total of 26 different pitchers have hit batters for Cincinnati this season. The Reds’ club record was 80 hit batters, set in 2005.
The Reds have used a club-record 38 pitchers this season (including three position players). That’s tied for the second-most pitchers used in the big leagues this year behind the Cubs (42). Seven different pitchers have made their big-league debuts for the Reds this season.
(Photo of Nick Lodolo: David Kohl / USA Today)
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