Lowe Brothers Share Tribute Before Angels-Reds First Clash
CINCINNATI — Right before the Angels and Reds opened play at Great American Ball Park, Josh Lowe and Nathaniel Lowe found themselves in the familiar orbit of family—one that recently changed forever. Their mother, Wendy Lowe, died in March at age 60 after battling glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. In that quiet stretch between batting practice and lineup cards, the brothers’ reunion carried weight, and even Mike Trout joined their conversation. For US News Hub Misryoum, the scene underscored how the game can become a living reminder when life outside the stadium shifts.
Nathaniel had spoken earlier about his mother’s fight, saying, “A lot of people with her type of cancer are gone a whole lot sooner,” adding, “So for her to give it 33 months of fight was something pretty special. But at the end of the day, I’m happy she’s done hurting. I’m glad she can rest. She gave us a great life and she was a great mom. You can’t really ask for a lot more other than that.” Hours after those remarks, he played in a spring game vs. the Dodgers and hit a towering three-run home run.
Friday’s matchup brought a new script. In a 10-2 Angels win over the Reds, Josh Lowe found his moment in the memory of Wendy, while both sons took the field. Josh snapped out of a 3-for-33 slide with a 2-for-5 night, including a solo home run. Nathaniel entered as a pinch runner for Sal Stewart in the eighth and handled first base in the ninth. Their shared emotion played out in small, baseball-shaped gestures—Josh grinning as he rounded the bases on a solo line drive to the seats in right in the sixth, and Nathaniel smiling as he watched Josh at-bat success turn into a missed swing on a 54.2 mph knuckleball from Cincinnati catcher P.J. Higgins in the ninth during mop-up duty.
Because Wendy’s absence sits in every inning, the Brothers Lowe reunion added urgency to each at-bat—especially the early momentum that allowed the Angels to set a relaxed rhythm. With both families watching from the same big-league stage, the night’s performances felt less like separate streaks and more like one shared message: keep showing up.
Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said he could see progress with Josh Lowe in his batting practice approach, and that it finally paid off Friday. “I feel the exact same way,” Lowe said. “I keep telling them, just keep saying it out loud, preaching to myself, ‘It’s really close. It’s about to click.’ I think that’s kind of just the mental attitude you need to get out of something like that. Just keep telling yourself that you believe in it, and you’ve got to believe it. Baseball is a funny game. Turn around 97 [for a home run] and then swing and miss at 56.”
Suzuki’s perspective was personal as well. “I’d love to see my kids play against each other in big leagues. That’s something really cool. It’s just a testament to, obviously, their talent, their work ethic.” David Lowe, the father of the Lowe brothers, was on hand Friday at Great American Ball Park. Josh said before the game that their father was “excited to be here and see his two sons playing [in] the big leagues, and
it’s gonna be a great night.” When asked about how the brothers talk now, Josh said, “I mean, now we keep it light,” and they “talk a little baseball here and there, but just more being back with your family and hanging out with your family.” He added that he keeps tabs on his brother’s progress, saying, “Yeah, I’m always watching to see if he’s playing or not, and I know he’s doing the same,
because he’ll text me after games and stuff like that. But yeah, I mean, it’s your family and you check up on them and see how they’re doing.”
Those conversations came amid numbers that still need turning around. Josh entered with a batting average of .091 with one home run and three RBIs in 12 games, while Nathaniel entered batting .214 with no home runs and two RBIs in seven games. Yet even with the stats still catching up, the bigger takeaway for US News Hub Misryoum was the pregame moment the brothers shared together, grounded by perspective their mother helped shape. Suzuki summed up the feeling: “I think that’s really cool,” he said, noting he never played against Josh directly, but “played against his brother, Nathaniel, a lot [when he was in] Texas,” and adding it’s “really cool” to see his kids’ talents reflected in a brother-to-brother matchup.