Elevate your local knowledge

Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!

Select Region

Selecting your primary region ensures you get the stories that matter to you first.

Reds blank Rangers 2-0 as Lowder pitches scoreless innings in first win since 2024

Reds blank Rangers 2-0 as Lowder pitches scoreless innings in first win since 2024 | iNFOnews.ca
Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Rhett Lowder throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rhett Lowder allowed three hits over six innings as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Texas Rangers 2-0 on Saturday night, giving the right-hander his first win since 2024 after missing all of last season because of injuries.

Graham Ashcraft, Tony Santillan and Emilio Pagán each worked a scoreless inning to wrap up the Reds’ second shutout this season. Pagán matched the early MLB lead with his third save, his second in as many days, benefitting from a double play while walking two and giving up a two-out single.

Cincinnati got their runs on back-to-back RBI singles by Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart in the first off Kumar Rocker (0-1) before Lowder (1-0) had even thrown the first of his 82 pitches in his second start this season.

Lowder struck out four and gave up two leadoff walks. After allowing back-to-back singles with two outs in the first, the Rangers didn’t get another runner to second base against him. He retired 12 of his last 13 batters he faced while lowering his career ERA to 1.30, the lowest for any Reds pitcher in his first eight career starts.

Texas, which has lost its first two home games and three games in a row overall, was held scoreless for the first time.

The seventh overall pick out of Wake Forest in the 2023 draft, Lowder made his big league debut in the final month of the 2024 season when he was 2-2 with a 1.17 ERA in six starts. He missed all of last season with because of a right forearm strain and then a left oblique strain.

Rocker struck out three in his five innings.

Matt McLain had a one-out single in the Reds first before a wild pitch. De La Cruz drove him home with a broken-bat single, then scored from first when Stewart lined a single into right-center on a hit-ad-run play.

Up next

Chase Burns (1-0, 0.00 ERA), who got his first big league win Monday, pitches for the Reds in the series finale Sunday. Jack Leiter (1-0, 3.00) goes for Texas.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Reds blank Rangers 2-0 as Lowder pitches scoreless innings in first win since 2024 | iNFOnews.ca
Cincinnati Reds’ Elly de la Cruz breaks his bat while hitting a single, scoring teammate Matt McLain, during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Reds blank Rangers 2-0 as Lowder pitches scoreless innings in first win since 2024 | iNFOnews.ca
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly de la Cruz (44) and center fielder Dane Myers (17) react after their team defeated the Texas Rangers 5-3 during the Rangers’ home-opener baseball game Friday, April 3, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Reds blank Rangers 2-0 as Lowder pitches scoreless innings in first win since 2024 | iNFOnews.ca
Texas Rangers starting pitcher Kumar Rocker throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

Create a free account

The Associated Press

Stephen Hawkins

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.

Related Articles