The big takeaway for the Cincinnati Reds was Chris Paddack, who was designated for assignment by the Miami Marlins just weeks ago, once again provided his new club with a reasonable chance to win.
Paddack tossed five innings of three-run baseball against the St. Louis Cardinals (29-21) at Great American Ball Park on Saturday, May 23. It was the first game of a split doubleheader follow Friday, May 22’s rain-soaked postponement, and Paddack exited the game with Cincinnati trailing at just 3-1.
After that point in the contest, you could pick any number of reasons for the Reds’ eventual 8-1 loss. Paddack wasn’t really to blame.
The Reds (26-25) bullpen capitulated, particularly from the seventh inning on. Sam Moll pitched a tidy sixth inning but Connor Phillips (one inning) and Jose Franco (two innings) combined to allow five runs, five walks and four hits.
Phillips and Franco were both optioned to Triple-A Louisville after the game. The Reds called up new reliever Caleb Ferguson, who was injured before ever pitching for the team, and Chase Petty, who was scheduled to start the second game.
But even if the deficit had been more manageable, the Reds bats went silent after a second inning in which Nathanial Lowe’s leadoff home run put Cincinnati up, 1-0. Blake Dunn’s single later in the second would be the Reds’ final hit of the contest.
The loss dropped the Reds to 1-10 against the NL Central this season.
St. Louis’ Jordan Walker (1-for-5) drove in three runs for the Cardinals. Iván Herrera (2-for-3 with two walks, one RBI) scored twice.
Short of shutting out the Cardinals, Cincinnati didn’t have the firepower to win on the day. So, what ended up sticking out among few positives was Paddack.
“You know, actually, I think what he’s showing is − there’s something to like there,” Reds manager Terry Francona said.
The Reds signed Paddack on May 13, and the club was in great need of starting-caliber arms. He was 0-5 with the Marlins with a 7.63 ERA, and while he’s still winless after two Reds outings, his ERA with Cincinnati is at 4.50 with just five earned runs allowed over two starts.
He had a no-decision in his May 16 start for Cincinnati against the Cleveland Guardians. May 23 saw his overall record fall to 0-6 in 2026, but he’s given his club opportunities to win during a month in which the team has gone 6-14.
Paddack said he was pleased with the game plan he’d devised with catcher Tyler Stephenson, noting that it was also their first time working together in-game (Jose Trevino caught Paddack’s Cincinnati debut on May 16).
Paddack blanked the Cardinals in the first two innings and limited the damage to two runs in the fourth inning when St. Louis loaded the bases.
After Paddack’s first trip through the Cardinals’ batting order, he started to fall behind in counts. The resulted in three walks by the time his day was over.
“I can live with the singles. I can’t live with the three walks,” Paddack said. “I’m a guy that, those are things we can control a little bit. Better than I’ve been doing as a starting pitcher is filling up the zone. Whenever I try to be too fine, the game speeds up. I’m getting out of the zone. You’re having to work harder (and) bad things tend to happen.
“That’s pretty much the only frustrating part of the whole outing, falling behind and counts that led to walks on guys you don’t want on the bases… We’re so close to putting it all together, and I really do believe that.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds new starting pitcher Chris Paddack was solid again in loss
Reporting by Pat Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
