Reds starter Michael Lorenzen was on the wrong side of a shutout on Thursday, as the Reds lost to the Cardinals 3-0. Lorenzen allowed all three runs on four hits over five innings. He struggled with his control, issuing four walks and a hit batter while striking out five on the afternoon.
The rookie right-hander threw just 53 of his 93 pitches for strikes, as he had trouble locating his pitches. He put up zeroes over the first three innings, but allowed a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth. Meanwhile, the Reds' offense was baffled by Michael Wacha, en route to the shutout loss.
"I felt good," Lorenzen said, per MLB.com. "I thought I threw the ball really well. I competed with everything, and they took some good at-bats. I had some guys 0-2, and they battled. That's what the Cardinals are known for, but coming out today, besides taking the loss -- obviously, we want to win, but it's improvement. I'm feeling good, arm feels good, mechanically I feel good, so I just need to take the results out of the equation and understand … that I threw the ball well."
Lorenzen (3-7, 4.84 ERA) has failed to get past the sixth inning in each of his four most recent starts. He has allowed a total of 20 earned runs over that stretch.