The Boston Red Sox had already caught a huge break in their season-opening series against the Cincinnati Reds when news broke that their ace, Hunter Greene, was declared ineligible to start on Opening Day. The 26-year-old righty underwent surgery in the offseason to remove bone chips from his elbow.
On March 24, Boston learned it'd also get lucky in game two, as well. Cincinnati starter Nick Lodolo will begin the season on the 15-day injured list, according to Gordon Wittenmyer or the Cincinnati Enquirer (subscription required). Lodolo has a blister on his index finger that has impacted his ability to throw. In the last three seasons, he's had blisters that have sent him to the IL.
This is a particularly fortunate turn of events for the Red Sox because Lodolo was supposed to be the second lefty they'd face to start the season. Despite their offseason pursuits of a big righty bat, the Sox's batting order is still dominated by left-handers.
New righty additions Caleb Durbin and Willson Contreras have balanced Boston's lineup slightly, but most of its key bats from last season are southpaws. Boston will also be without lefty killer Romy Gonzalez to start the year after he underwent shoulder surgery in February.
Lodolo broke out for the Reds last season and the Red Sox are lucky to miss his start. He posted a 3.33 ERA, a 1.079 WHIP and 156 strikeouts over 156.2 innings last year.
Red Sox catch a lucky break and miss Reds lefty starter Nick Lodolo as he begins season on IL
The lefty looked a bit rusty in spring training with a 7.24 ERA, but he only pitched 13.2 innings because of his injury. Reds pitchers, as a whole struggled in Grapefruit League play, to the tune of a 6.47 ERA as a team over 267 innings, the 28th-worst metric in the league. The Red Sox finished only two places ahead of them, so both teams could stand to have a short memory.
After facing Abbott on Opening Day, Boston will see Brady Singer in game two and Rhett Lowder in game three of their matchup with the Reds at Great American Ballpark, per Whittenmyer. Abbott posted a breakout season last year to earn his first All-Star nomination and Singer has been a decent middle-rotation starter for years. Lowder is just a rookie, but he had great success during his cup of coffee in the majors last season — he clocked a 1.17 ERA over 30.2 innings.