Nick Lodolo leaves Reds start early after being hit by a comebacker

Nick Lodolo’s outing for the Cincinnati Reds ended sooner than planned after he was hit by a comebacker and had to leave the start early. The development landed at a difficult moment for the left-hander, whose 2026 season has been unusually turbulent, with a previous spell on the shelf tied to blister issues and a lingering challenge returning to his prior pitch feel.

According to Yahoo Sports, Lodolo’s trouble began before this latest incident with a blister problem that cost him time early in the year. Even after he returned, the report says he looked “a bit lost” on the mound at times, particularly when it came to throwing his breaking pitches. The reason, as described in the story, was that the grips associated with his breaking pitches had been part of what led to the blisters in the first place.

The comebacker that forced Lodolo out adds another layer of stress to a season that already seemed to hinge on hand feel and pitch execution. In baseball, a pitcher’s breaking ball is often a repeatable craft. If grip comfort changes, the break can flatten, the release can drift, or the command can tighten into places hitters can predict. When that happens alongside a non-routine contact event, the first concern is simply how quickly a pitcher can settle back into a controllable delivery.

For Cincinnati, the practical impact goes beyond one line in a game log. Lodolo is a rotation piece teams lean on to give innings, manage matchups, and set a baseline for how the staff can use its bullpen. When a starter exits early, managers typically have to adjust quickly, shortening outings that were otherwise planned around a full workload and changing leverage patterns for relievers. That makes it harder to protect the late innings if the same issues stack up over multiple starts.

There is also the question of timing and recovery. Blisters and pitch mechanics discomfort can be self-reinforcing if a pitcher tries to “push through” while the hand is still tender or the grip still feels wrong. While the Yahoo report focuses on the sequence of events this year and the comebacker forcing Lodolo out of the current start, it also underscores a theme Reds followers have likely been tracking: the way small physical issues can reshape the confidence and comfort behind every throw.

At the moment, the strongest confirmed storyline is the one the team and league will ultimately care about in the official reporting: Lodolo left early after contact and is dealing with a season history that has already included blister-related absence and breaking-pitch discomfort. The next relevant developments will be the Reds’ official update on his status and whether the organization can provide clarity on how the comebacker affects his availability for subsequent turns in the rotation.

Until then, the Reds’ focus will be twofold. First, they will need to re-map a pitching plan that absorbs an early departure and still keeps the bullpen usable. Second, they will want to see whether Lodolo can return to the pitch shape and confidence that existed before the blister episode, not just for this game but for whatever span he’s able to log moving forward.