Reds looking forward to the next week after shutout loss

CINCINNATI -- Even for contending teams, there will be flat nights and subpar performances over a 162-game schedule. The problem for the contending Reds is they can ill-afford those over their final 10 games while fighting to get into the playoffs.

Swingman pitcher Ben Lively knew as much as he paced the dugout after being removed during a 7-0 loss to the Twins on Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park. Lively threw an object at the bench in frustration with himself.

"I obviously wasn’t on my A-game and tried to battle through it. It didn’t go my way. I’m not going to be happy," said Lively, who inherited a 2-0 deficit in the fourth inning before he allowed five runs on seven hits and four walks over four innings as the game got away. "Especially the stuff I’ve been through this year, I want to do as much as I can, and it just sucks. I’m pissed off.”

• Games remaining: vs. MIN (1), vs. PIT (3), at CLE (2), at STL (3)
• Standings update: The Reds (79-74) dropped a half-game behind the Marlins (79-73) and a game behind the Cubs (79-72), who possess the third National League Wild Card spot. Cincinnati holds the tiebreaker over both Chicago and Arizona (80-72), which holds the second Wild Card, after winning the season series. Miami has the second tiebreaker, based on intradivision record, after they tied the season series.

It was an even more fruitless night for the lineup. Cincinnati's offense was limited to one hit over five innings by Twins starter Kenta Maeda and four hits overall while striking out 14 times.

Even when the Reds had something going, they were foiled by great defense -- twice -- from Twins center fielder Willi Castro. With two runners in scoring position and two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, Castro made a sliding catch to take away a hit from Tyler Stephenson. In the seventh inning, Castro made a leaping catch at the fence to rob Stephenson of a two-run home run.

"We were in a situation tonight where a lot of guys were going to pitch," Reds manager David Bell said. "Ben was going to pitch some of those innings. But when you’re not scoring, it’s a lot of pressure. We’re a team, so there’s been plenty of nights where the offense has come through. But tonight, really, the story was not our pitching. We just weren’t able to score. If we score some runs there, it changes the way you do everything. Ben gave us everything he could out there.”

Fernando Cruz, the opener for a bullpen game, issued a leadoff walk in the second inning before a two-out RBI single by Matt Wallner off Buck Farmer put Minnesota ahead, 1-0. In the fourth inning with lefty Alex Young pitching, Ryan Jeffers hit an 0-1 pitch to left field for a solo homer and a two-run deficit.

Lively handled the bulk of the innings, but he turned the close game into his own mop-up work. The Twins collected four hits in the sixth inning against Lively, with Edouard Julien and Jorge Polanco each hitting an RBI single to right field. In the seventh inning after a leadoff walk, Lively's 3-1 pitch was slugged to right field for a two-run homer by Castro to make it a six-run game.

It's been a tough two-month stretch for Lively, who has a 12.00 ERA over his past four games since Aug. 1, a span that included two stints on the injured list with a pectoral muscle strain. But he's been dependable in key portions of the season, and with a depleted rotation, Cincinnati needs him in these final days of the season to pick up innings.

Because of a brilliant seven-inning start by rookie Connor Phillips during Monday's win over Minnesota, the Reds still have a chance to take the three-game series. It will be an important start for Hunter Greene in Wednesday afternoon's rubber game.

Bell has repeatedly pushed his team to move on quickly from bad games, and it will have to happen again to keep the Reds' playoff hopes from dimming.

“If you can’t turn the page now and look forward to tomorrow and playing another big game, we have all of that to look forward to for the next week," Bell said. "Not to make light of tonight, because they’re all extremely important. To play games that mean this much, it’s the best.”