CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds are 19-11 and in first place in the hyper-competitive National League Central with an underperforming offense and without either of their top two starting pitchers, right-hander Hunter Greene and left-hander Nick Lodolo.
The stellar start has been due, in part, to the depth of the team’s starting pitching. That depth will be tested even further after lefty Brandon Williamson left Wednesday’s 13-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies with left shoulder fatigue.
“We’re going to get him MRI’d in the morning. We’ll have more information hopefully,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “Right now that’s where we’re at.”
Williamson said he’d been fighting the shoulder recently and that fatigue had caused his arm angle to drop. Williamson normally throws very much over the top, and pitching from the lower arm angle has hurt his command.
“It’s made it difficult to be consistent because I keep trying to get up, and I just can’t,” Williamson said.
Right-hander Jose Franco, brought up Saturday from Triple-A Louisville, where he had been starting, pitched three innings in relief against the Rockies. Franco allowed three earned runs on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts. To make matters worse, the Reds’ athletic trainer was summoned to the mound to visit Franco in his first inning. Franco said after the game he was OK.
“I think he tripped or hit a hole or something and then he was fine,” Francona said. “We told him … that if you’re not OK, you’ve got to let us know. He was fine.”
Franco made two starts at Triple-A Louisville, allowing nine earned runs in seven innings.
The 25-year-old right-hander made his big-league debut earlier this season and made three appearances in relief before being sent back to Triple A. Franco threw two innings against the Tigers on Sunday.
Right-hander Chase Petty, who is the only available starter on the 40-man roster other than Franco, started for Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday. Petty left the team’s game against Omaha after 2 1/3 innings. He allowed two hits, with three walks and four strikeouts. Petty threw 62 pitches in the start with 37 strikes. His departure from the game was not injury related, according to a team source.
Williamson, 28, missed the 2025 season and most of 2024 following ulnar collateral ligament surgery on his left elbow. Against the Rockies, Williamson allowed four runs on four hits with four walks and four strikeouts before he was taken out of the game after the Rockies’ half of the third inning. With the loss, Williamson is now 2-3 with a 6.11 ERA.
In his two wins, he pitched a combined 12 innings and allowed one run on six hits with five walks and six strikeouts. In his three losses, he’s also thrown 12 innings, but surrendered 15 runs on 17 hits with nine walks and 10 strikeouts.
That inconsistency isn’t uncommon for a pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery, Francona said.
“It’s been 15 months, and when you’re going through rehab, you have a daily routine. Now you’re on a five-day routine, which he wasn’t doing,” Francona said before Wednesday’s game. “I don’t think it’s just your arm, your body, it’s everything.”
After the game, Williamson agreed with Francona’s assessment.
“I’ve tried to battle through it because when you get opportunities, you have to take them,” Williamson said. “I’ve been trying to compete and do my best. We’ll see.”
Williamson was one of three pitchers who entered spring training competing for the final spot in the team’s rotation. When Greene had surgery in March to remove bone spurs in his right elbow, Williamson, Rhett Lowder and Chase Burns were competing for two open spots in the rotation. After Lodolo was sidelined with a blister on his left index finger before Opening Day, each of the three had a spot in the rotation.
Lodolo made a rehab start Sunday for High-A Dayton and pitched well. He was expected to make another rehab start Saturday for Louisville.
Greene isn’t expected to return until July.
