GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Wednesday may have started with bad news for the Reds, but it ended with a reminder of just how deep the pitching staff goes.\n\n
Lowder struck out three, allowed two hits and did not issue any walks. His effectiveness stymied Cuba, which never put a runner in scoring position while he was on the mound.
Statistics from Wednesday’s exhibition game – Cuba’s last before it kicks off pool play at the 2026 World Baseball Classic – do not count toward overall 2026 Spring Training stats. If they did, the right-hander’s new stat line would jump off the page, because he has now gone 21 straight outs without allowing a run. Lowder induced 22 swings on 29 strikes against Cuba, notching a 45 percent whiff rate in the process.\n\nHe threw 43 pitches, mixing up his four-seamer, sinker, changeup and slider effectively, with his sinker and slider making up 63 percent of his pitches.
Still, he said there’s plenty more he’ll work on before his next start.\n\n“I think there's a couple two-strike pitches I could execute a little bit better, but it ended up not hurting me,” Lowder said. “It's fun, I feel like everything's going well, and I'm getting stronger each week.”\n\nLowder continues to make a strong case to crack the starting rotation despite not appearing in a Major League game last season after he suffered a season-ending left oblique strain during a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville in May 2025.
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He made his MLB debut in 2024 and last appeared in the Majors on Sept. 28, 2024. He finished that season 2-2 with a 1.17 ERA in six starts, notching 22 strikeouts while posting a 1.27 WHIP.\n\nThe only two Cuban baserunners to reach against Lowder on Wednesday were both subsequently caught stealing. That group included his Reds teammate