Cincinnati Reds left handed pitcher John Lamb made another rehab start for the Louisville Bats on Wednesday night. The lefty allowed two runs in 8.0 innings pitched with just one walk and with five strikeouts as he faced off against the Durham Bulls.
John Lamb threw 105 pitches in the start, 80 of which went for strikes as he pounded the strikezone all night long for the Bats. It was his fastball command that really stood out, as he was able to locate the pitch where he wanted it for the better part of the start, missing only a few times throughout the game.
The first trip through the Durham lineup he was almost exclusively using the fastball, but began to mix in the curveball and change up the second time he saw hitters. He was a bit inconsistent with his breaking ball early on. In the 4th inning he hung two curveballs and both were struck hard. The first one wound up going over the fence, though it may have been ballpark aided as Durham has a very short left field wall distance, but does have a tall wall that was barely cleared. The second one was hit to nearly the same spot, but was caught on the warning track. He would hang another one later in the game, but beyond those two in the 4th inning the curve improved moving forward.
The fastball was working for Lamb in the 88-90 MPH range on the night and he touched 91 on occasion according to the stadium radar gun in Durham. His curveball worked in the 69-74 MPH range. He also mixed in his cutter a few times in the mid 80’s.
This was likely the last rehab start for John Lamb. The Reds need pitching in the worst kind of way right now and the left hander went out and threw over 100 pitches with success in Triple-A. He showed control of multiple pitches, pounded the strikezone and generally just looked ready to get back into the big leagues. With Jon Moscot exiting the game tonight, favoring his non-pitching shoulder that he had surgically repaired in the offseason, the decision may be made regardless of the strong outing by Lamb for Louisville on Wednesday night.