Reds Rookies End 7-Game Skid With Clutch Pitching

When your team has lost seven of eight games and the bullpen keeps blowing leads, sometimes you need fresh energy to turn things around.

The Cincinnati Reds found exactly that on Saturday when rookies Rhett Lowder and Chase Petty delivered a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Great American Ball Park. The win broke a stretch that saw Cincinnati drop 11 of their last 14 games.

Lowder set the tone early. The right-hander was pitching his second game back from a shoulder injury that had sidelined him since mid-May. His first return start against the Cardinals had been rough, but Saturday showed the version of Lowder that impressed all April long.

He went 5 2/3 innings, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out six batters. Manager Terry Francona was thrilled to see him throw nearly 100 pitches and feel good doing it.

"It was good to get back out there and have free reign," Lowder said after the game. He stayed aggressive and adjusted his approach when Arizona's hitters came out swinging early.

Then came the moment that tested the 23-year-old Petty like never before. The phone rang in the bullpen during the seventh inning with his team tied, runners on base, and one of Arizona's best hitters at the plate.

Petty had spent most of 2025 as a starter in Triple-A. Now he was being asked to pitch high-leverage relief in a situation he'd never faced. He didn't flinch.

Why This Inspires

Petty credited a pregame conversation with his wife Brooke for helping him stay present. "She said to be where my feet are and not worry about the past, and not worry about the future," he explained. "There's only one moment that matters. That's now."

That mindset helped him escape the seventh-inning jam and pitch a scoreless eighth. He got All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte to ground out for the final out of his appearance, mixing his four-pitch arsenal and hitting 97.8 mph on the radar gun.

Center fielder Noelvi Marte hit the go-ahead home run in the eighth inning, then praised both rookies through an interpreter. "They both have the talent to really help us."

Sometimes the youngest players in the room show the most heart when veterans are struggling, and that's exactly what happened in Cincinnati on Saturday.