Reds place left-hander starter Brandon Williamson on 15-day IL with shoulder fatigue

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds placed left-handed starter Brandon Williamson on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder fatigue after undergoing an MRI on Thursday morning.

“Structurally it came back good,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “He will go on a shoulder program (for) range of motion, strength, all that stuff.”

Williamson, 28, was pulled after three innings in Wednesday's 13-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies after allowing four runs on four hits. He walked four and struck out four.

He is 2-3 with a 6.11 ERA in six starts after missing all of last season following left elbow surgery in September 2024.

Williamson made the club out of spring training when fellow left-hander Nick Lodolo landed on the IL with a blister on his left index finger. A setback for Williamson was not unexpected.

“When he made the club, because he pitched so well in the spring, we were all concerned that, OK, it's going to be every five or six days, there's going to be some hiccups,” Francona said.

The Reds (19-11) are off to their best 30-game start since 2006 despite being without starters Hunter Greene and Lodolo, and with Andrew Abbott struggling with a 6.59 ERA in six starts.

Greene has started throwing and is projected to return in July. Lodolo will likely need one more rehab start before being activated. Right-hander Zach Maxwell was recalled from Triple-A on Thursday.

“We've got a lot of moving parts,” Francona said.

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