Reds starter Nick Lodolo could be headed to IL after leaving game against Cubs with blister

CHICAGO (AP) — Cincinnati left-hander Nick Lodolo could be headed to the injured list after leaving Monday night’s 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs in the second inning with a blister on his left index finger.

Lodolo retired the first five Cubs hitters. Then, after throwing a strike on his first pitch to Justin Turner, Lodolo gestured toward his left hand.

Manager Terry Francona jogged to the mound with a trainer for a brief discussion. Lodolo walked to the dugout and was replaced by Nick Martinez.

“He’s already doing better, which is good,” Francona said. “I certainly think we’re going to err on the side of caution, because he’s dealt with this before, and you don’t ever want this to turn into something else arm-wise or something like that. So we’ll do the right thing.”

Lodolo is 8-6 with a 3.05 ERA in a career-high 23 starts and 129 2/3 innings. He has won his last three decisions.

“It really just kind of came up,” Lodolo said. “I pitched to (Willi) Castro, struck him out and didn’t feel anything. Threw the slider to Turner and it felt like the skin ripped on my finger.

“When I looked down, there was like a bubble under there, a whole bunch of fluids. So, before I go and throw another pitch, I thought it was best to stop, because I’ve done that in the past and it takes a lot longer to heal.”

The 6-foot-6 Lodolo had a blister last season and doesn’t think this one is as severe.

“Not as bad,” he said. “I didn’t bust it open or anything, so we’ll see how it looks tomorrow and go from there.”

“If I threw a couple more pitches, it would not have been in a good spot,” he added. “Last year, I started trying to throw the ball, compensating, because I didn’t want to put too much pressure through the index finger.”

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