Cincinnati Reds starter Rhett Lowder exits with right shoulder discomfort at Chicago Cubs

“I've been working through some stuff,” Lowder said. “We'll see.”

He opened the inning with a pair of walks on nine pitches, then threw a change-up in the dirt to Michael Busch. Reds manager Terry Francona said he noticed Lowder shake his shoulder a couple times and came out to the mound with a trainer. After a brief conversation, Lowder left the game.

“We'll know more tomorrow,” Francona said. “We're going to get him an MRI in the morning. I don't think it was a terrible amount of discomfort. He felt some clicking up there. He was having trouble getting into the spot. I get it. You're asking someone to throw the ball mid-90s and get major league hitters out, and if you don't feel like you can get to a slot — that's why I didn't leave him in. He wanted to stay in and I don't think that's right.”

Lowder gave up a solo home run to Michael Conforto in the second inning and was charged with three earned runs on one hit, four walks and a strikeout in three innings pitched after reliever Connor Phillips allowed both of the inherited base runners to score. The Cubs scored seven runs in the inning, their highest-scoring inning of the season, to take an 8-0 lead.

Lowder came into the game with a 3-2 record and 5.09 ERA in six starts. The home run to Conforto was the second he has allowed in 13 career starts.

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