Cincinnati Reds right-hander Rhett Lowder, who missed all of last season due to injuries to his right elbow and left oblique, has come back in fine form.
In two starts this year, Lowder is 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA. In eight major league starts since making his debut in 2024, Lowder is 3-2 with a 1.30 ERA.
That’s the lowest ERA of any Reds starter ever over his first eight big-league starts (minimum 30 innings) since earned runs were tracked beginning in 1913.
On Thursday afternoon, Lowder will try to keep it going against the host Miami Marlins in the finale of a four-game series. Cincinnati won the first two games of the set before Miami prevailed 7-4 on Wednesday.
“(Lowder) is a great pitcher,” said Reds catcher Jose Trevino, who was placed on the injured list on Wednesday due to a thoracic spine strain. “He knows where his stuff is going. He has an idea of how to use his tools.”
Those “tools” are not overpowering as Lowder’s fastball normally tops out at 94 mph. Even though he is only 24 years old, Lowder pitches like a veteran, according to Reds manager Terry Francona.
“In an era when guys just grip it and rip it, (Lowder) can spin it down low, below barrels,” Francona said. “Even when he falls behind, he doesn’t have to come in with a fastball.”
Lowder, who has never faced the Marlins, has been a star since 2023, when he went 15-0 with a 1.87 ERA at Wake Forest, leading the nation in wins and helping to take the Demon Deacons to the College World Series for the first time in 68 years.
He was the seventh pick in that year’s draft, and the Marlins will next look to battle Lowder’s pitch mix that includes four-seam fastball, sinker, slider and changeup.
Miami will counter with 27-year-old right-hander Max Meyer (0-0, 4.66 ERA).
Meyer, Miami’s first-round pick (third overall) in 2020, is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in two career appearances, both starts, against the Reds.
The Marlins are expecting good news on Thursday as closer Pete Fairbanks is expected back from paternity leave. He has not pitched since Sunday.
Fairbanks, who signed a one-year, $13 million free-agent contract with Miami in December, is 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA and two saves so far this season. For his eight-year career, he has a 3.24 ERA and 92 saves.
With Fairbanks unavailable, Michael Petersen earned his first career saves on Wednesday. He pitched around two infield hits to throw a scoreless ninth inning, lowering his ERA to 5.40.
Petersen is a late bloomer at age 31. He made his major league debut in 2024 with the Dodgers, and he has pitched professionally for six organizations, for three in the majors.
“He has a big fastball and a hard breaking ball,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said of Petersen, who is 6-foot-7. “He can neutralize both sides of the plate.”
Miami’s offense is a varied attack, and one of its main contributors is outfielder Griffin Conine, who had a two-run homer among his two hits on Wednesday.
“Griffin has impact in his bat,” McCullough said. “When he squares it up, he can do damage.”
–Field Level Media
