Reds Beat: Facing Critical Early-Season Crossroads, Andrew Abbott Rides ‘The Wave’, Gives Reds Exactly What They Needed, With More ‘Insane’ Help from Elly De La Cruz

CINCINNATI — Thursday was a very important start for Andrew Abbott, from both a team and personal perspective.

He knew the wins would come but he still had the goose egg on the front of his line before the day began. With Brandon Williamson placed on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation, and Nick Lodolo still at least one rehab start away from a return, the Reds needed their Opening Day starter to show a return to the form that made him a 2025 National League All-Star.

On Thursday, in a 6-4 win over the Rockies, he not only won his first game of the season, he showed the grit, temperament and determination of a pitcher bent on a return to winning ways.

He allowed a two-run homer in the first to Tyler Freeman to the first row of seats in right and then worked out of a bases loaded jam in the fifth to record six solid innings, allowing just five hits and two runs, striking out five and walking two while tossing 86 pitches. Abbott was 0-2 with a 6.59 ERA in six starts coming in. He never wavered but he did consult closely with the people he trusts, namely pitching coach Derek Johnson and his biomechanics staff on the Reds to break down ever detail.

On Thursday, it began to pay off.

“I think it’s a big tip to DJ and our biomechanics staff. They just did a deep dive on me. And we’re figuring out (how) we’re standing a little more taller than we have been over last year, arm angle was up, all those things,” Abbott said. “We knocked out what we could, but we’re not going to focus on 10 things at one time. So just some slight adjustments in the game, and then during the week, and throwing program. And I felt really good and really sound today.”

It’s in times of high stress a pitcher like Abbott leans heavily on those mechanics, like the fifth and sixth inning when he’s tiring or facing a bases loaded situation.

“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that’s when fatigue starts setting in,” Abbott told me. “You start getting a little more tired second and third time through the lineup. You have to really start executing with those hitters up there. And I think that’s when you just rely on your stuff at the end of the day.

Abbott is the kind of pitcher that doesn’t lose confidence in his skillset. He knows his fundamentals will eventually win out and the production will be there.

On Thursday, Abbott didn’t panic or hang his head on the Tyler Freeman homer to right in the first. There was no need to.

“Give Freeman some credit, I just didn’t think off the bat … this is probably one of the few ballparks (where) today it’s a home run,” said Reds manager Terry Francona. “I think when it went up, we thought it was an out, but after that, he really looked like Abbott. Started throwing his change up, got in a rhythm. Pitch uses fastball up a little bit better than he has, and was very effective.”

Very effective. That’s Abbott to a tee when he’s on his game. Not overpowering or spectacular. Very effective. That’s what the Reds needed Thursday and that’s what they got.

“I mean, every game is different,” Abbott said. “You’re going to get whacked one game, you’re going to pitch really good one game. It’s just ebb and flow of baseball. It’s how you know, precious and unique the sport is. You just got to put your head down, keep working and keep showing up the same every day, and just know that it’s going to turn.”

It also turned, in part, thanks to another other-worldly play from Elly De La Cruz. TJ Rumfield opened the second inning with a grounder wide of the second base bag into shallow right field. De La Cruz came over from his spot, just to the left of the second base bag and slid on the right field grass, stopped the ball, got up and fired a strike to Spencer Steer at first to get Rumfield by a half-step. The Rockies broadcaster said on the air they had already marked a basehit on their scorecard when they looked up and saw what De La Cruz did.

“I have a perfect view of that, like in center field, and I could see how much range he covered,” said TJ Friedl. “And off the bat, I’m like, charging in, because it’s probably going to be base hit up the middle, and he just comes out of nowhere, dives six feet, gets up, makes the throw. To have that angle of it right behind him, to watch that is… it’s insane. But it’s Elly. Like I’ve said that for four years now, or three years, whatever it’s been, right? It would be unbelievable if it were everybody else. He’s just like, ‘Yeah, that’s him. That’s what he does.'”

On Tuesday, De La Cruz showed his arm strength on the cross-body throw to get Kyle Karros. This play was just as impressive on the other side of the diamond.

As Abbott left after six innings with a 4-2 lead, he had a great sense of accomplishment after six previous starts without a reward.

“Vindication, just hard work, keep going. I mean, ride the wave,” Abbott said. “It wasn’t what I wanted to be earlier (in the season). But I’m the only one that can change that. So just put your head down and keep working. I know how I got here, and we just went back to the roots and was able to pitch out of big spots and make pitches when I needed to. One mistake in the game today, but I’m going to take six (innings) and two (runs) every time.”

NOTES:
The Reds are at 20 wins before May for the first time in franchise history.

“Fantastic. I think it’s good,” Friedl said. “We’re just playing clean baseball like that’s that’s what we do, and and that was kind of ingrained in us in spring training, and how important that is, taking care of the baseball, playing clean baseball on all sides and all facets of the game. And I think it’s fantastic. It’s great.”

The Impact of Williamson’s Setback
The starting rotation, already stretched thin by early-season losses, faces a new challenge as Williamson was placed on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder fatigue on April 30, 2026. While an MRI confirmed no structural damage, the injury creates another hole in a staff missing its top two arms and forces the team to rely even more heavily on unproven youth and taxed depth.

Williamson, 28, left his April 29 start against the Colorado Rockies after just three innings and 58 pitches. Having missed the entire 2025 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, he had successfully fought his way into the 2026 Opening Day rotation but recently struggled with command as fatigue set in. Before the injury, Williamson posted a 2–3 record with a 6.11 ERA over six starts.

The Context of the Injury
Williamson’s injury occurred during a laboring three-inning start against the Rockies where he struggled with command, walking four batters and allowing four runs. The 28-year-old was already navigating a delicate recovery path, having missed the entire 2025 season following Tommy John surgery. Francona noted that while an MRI showed no structural damage, the setback was almost anticipated given Williamson’s recent workload.

“We’ve got a lot of moving parts,” Francona said of potential replacements, including Jose Franco, currently in the bullpen as a long reliever, who could serve as an “opener” or primary pitcher if the team opts for a bullpen day and Chase Petty, on Williamson’s same schedule down at Triple-A and could start Monday in Chicago against the Cubs.