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Why Chase Petty's start in Reds loss big for Reds, bigger for him
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- Why Chase Petty's start in Reds loss big for Reds, bigger for him
CHICAGO – The last thing Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona told pitching prospect Chase Petty last summer before sending him back to the minors was that the right-hander's rough two-start debut did not define his career.
It's part of the mindset he took into his return engagement to the big leagues, when he exceeded expectations of everyone outside the Reds clubhouse to pitch nearly six innings against the first-place Cubs at Wrigley Field.
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"It was exactly that," he said. "I was 22 years old coming in. A lot can happen in a year. I've learned a lot. I've learned how to handle myself, how to control the controllables on the mound.
"And I think there's a lot of work left to do still."
Chase Petty will make his second start of the season when he is called up for the 7:15 p.m. second game of the day-night doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals May 23.
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Petty had allowed 13 earned runs and eight walks in six career innings (two starts and a relief appearance) before getting pressed into action by mounting injuries to the Reds rotation in Monday's series opener in Chicago.
And whatever comes next for him, he already has begun to redefine the early part of his big-league career with those 5 2/3 innings – in which he allowed three runs in one hiccup of a three-batter sequence in the fourth inning.
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"I thought he was terrific," Francona said. "In the grand scheme of things, it was really good. For us trying to win tonight you can't walk the two leadoff hitters. And then he fell behind (Seiya) Suzuki and threw him a fastball up, and (Suzuki) just climbed all over it (for a three-run homer)."
Petty, who handed off a 3-3 game to the bullpen (in a 5-4 loss), retired 17 of the 20 other batters he faced.
The performance was big for the Reds in helping keep a recently taxed bullpen fresher for the rest of a big road series and also in helping bridge a gap until Reds return frontline starter Nick Lodolo (blister) from the injured list Friday at home.
Lodolo rejoined the team after his 79-pitch minor-league rehab start for Triple-A Louisville on Sunday and pronounced himself ready and eager to make his season debut and put his chronic blister issue behind him for the rest of the season.
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"I'm really excited. I've just been kind of sitting here, trying to truck along slowly," said Lodolo, who suffered a setback early in his rehab process after suffering the blister in his final spring start. "I'm just excited to get back out there and compete and just be a part of it with the boys."
Lodolo's return is expected to mean a return trip to Louisville for Petty, a roster move that might sync with the anticipated return this week of reliever Pierce Johnson from the bereavement list just ahead of Lodolo's activation.
But Petty would depart leaving a fresh impression of what he might be able to do to help a Reds team hunting for a second straight playoff appearance – an impression of the Reds' big-league rotation depth that suddenly looks like it might run eight deep.
And it's a fresh dose of confidence he takes back to Louisville after weathering a rain delay and $780 million worth of veteran hitting in the Cubs ' lineup sprinkling a newly refined changeup against his upper-90s fastball.
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And doing it in the fishbowl of Wrigley Field – "a dream ballpark" – in front of 33,000 wet and hostile fans?
Talk about confidence.
"Hundred percent," he said. "Against a lineup like that. One of the best lineups in the league, possibly the best. So now it's just going out there in my next bullpen and working on what I need to work on."
Until his next chance to redefine himself.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Petty looked good in loss vs. Cubs
