Cincinnati Reds Dane Myers appears to escape injury after scare in 8th

MIAMI − Cincinnati Reds center fielder Dane Myers made one of the catches of the season on the Reds' first defensive chance of the game, almost made another on the second and wound up in the eighth inning lying on the turf with an injury scare after nearly making another catch on a diving attempt.

Myers' wrist bent back on the last play, but his finger caught the brunt of the force when it stuck on the turf.

It wasn't quite the homecoming he might have expected when he was traded to the Reds by the Miami Marlins in December, especially after the Reds lost 8-1 on Thursday.

But he escaped at least serious injury, and his sore finger will be checked again when the Reds return home Friday for the start of a series against the Los Angeles Angels.

"We were kind of concerned, especially when you see it on the replay," Reds manager Terry Francona said. "He checked out pretty well with the training room. I think he's OK."

Said Myers: "It's all right. ... It should be good."

Myers knows the Marlins' ballpark well, which helped on the opening play when he robbed Jakob Marsee of extra bases with a wall-banging catch that left him sitting on the warning track for a minute or so before regrouping.

"Just knowing the ballpark and knowing the (warning) track, I was counting my steps as soon as I hit the track," he said, "trying to make the play for Rhett (Lowder).

"Obviously, I wanted to make the two other catches, but it's part of the game. Had the other two in my glove. I just couldn't finish them."

Lowder endured the first clunker start of his big league career in the Marlins series finale after eight in which he never had allowed more than three runs, dating to his six-start debut in 2024.

"It'll happen, especially if you're getting behind to good hitters like this," Lowder said.

Five of Lowder's eight previous career starts, in fact, were scoreless outings; and his 1.30 ERA through his first eight was a franchise record (since earned runs became an official statistic in 1913).

"I gave up too many hard-hit balls," he said of the loss. "Just felt like I got behind every single batter. You just can't pitch like that."

He pitched into the sixth before giving up a double and one-out single. He had managed traffic well enough to leave the game at that point trailing just 4-1, with three of the runs earned.

One more scored on his ledger after he left the game.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds Dane Myers appears to escape injury after scare in 8th