Abbott (0-1) took the loss Wednesday, giving up four runs on five hits and three walks over 5.2 innings as the Reds fell 8-3 to the Pirates. He struck out five.
The big blow off Abbott was a three-run homer by Oneil Cruz in the first inning, and while the southpaw settled down from there, that was too much of a cushion to give Paul Skenes. Abbott tossed 55 of 88 pitches for strikes, and through his first two starts of the year he's managed a 3.09 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 9:4 K:BB in 11.2 innings. He'll look for his first win of 2026 in his next outing, which is set to come on the road next week in Miami.