CINCINNATI -- Tyler Flowers struck out with a runner at third and one out in the eighth. Ozzie Albies opted to bunt on his own after Matt Joyce started the ninth with a double. And Braves manager Brian Snitker opted to give Ender Inciarte a chance to rekindle the success he had in a game against Amir Garrett two years ago.

A lot went wrong as the Braves attempted to rally during Tuesday night’s 7-6 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park. But much of the focus was once again placed on Jesse Biddle, who issued yet another costly bases-loaded walk and further jeopardized his tenure in what has been a maddening Atlanta bullpen.

“Believe me, we want to win every game,” Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman. “But it’s April. We’re 11-11. These guys are learning as they go. We’ve got a lot of young guys in that bullpen with great arms and great stuff. We’ve just got to keep putting them out there. We believe in them. Hopefully we get a lead and they shut it down for us tomorrow.”

Even though Snitker has continued to say, “We’ve just got to keep running them out there,” Biddle and some of Atlanta’s other relievers just keep walking their team toward potential disaster. Braves relievers have walked 14.8 percent of the batters faced and have allowed opponents to produce a .366 on-base percentage.

Quite honestly, these numbers simply indicate the Braves are fortunate to have a .500 record and be within 1 1/2 games of the first-place Mets in the National League East. Atlanta’s offense is living up to optimistic expectations and the rotation is starting to take shape. But it’s nights like these when there’s no choice but to ask Snitker how much longer he can continue to gamble on Biddle, who has now walked seven of the past 17 batters he has faced, including two with the bases loaded.

“We’ve seen [Biddle] so good,” Snitker said. “I’m just trying to figure out the right spot. I’m trying to get him some confidence and get him going. But I don’t know what that is right now.”

Reds starter Sonny Gray was dominant until Freeman and Josh Donaldson recorded consecutive RBI hits during a three-run sixth that gave the Braves a brief 4-3 lead. Kevin Gausman was in line to get a win until things unraveled in the bottom half of the inning. Jose Iglesias’ 99.7 mph grounder got by Donaldson for an error and Jose Peraza chased Gausman with a double past the third-base bag.

Biddle followed two disappointing outings against the D-backs last week with two encouraging ones against the Indians this past weekend. But hope quickly faded as he walked each of the three Cincinnati batters he faced during the decisive four-run sixth. Joey Votto drew a five-pitch walk and Eugenio Suarez was intentionally walked after Flowers was charged with a passed ball. This set the stage for Phillip Ervin, who drew the bases-loaded walk a few hours after being promoted from Triple-A Louisville.

How Atlanta handles Biddle remains to be seen. The 27-year-old reliever is out of options and there’s certainly a chance another team might take a shot on a talented reliever who produced a 3.11 ERA over 63 2/3 innings last year. Though he has produced reverse splits thus far, he’s the only lefty middle reliever on the roster, and there is not much organizational depth in this department.

Grant Dayton will likely be given a little more time to recover from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last year. Veteran lefty reliever Jonny Venters might be available to return from the injured list later this week, but he was shut down after retiring just eight of the 18 batters he has faced this season.

Eighth-inning decision

Dansby Swanson tripled and scored in the fifth and then cut the Braves’ deficit to one run with his eighth-inning double. Swanson stole third, but Flowers was not able to put the ball in play against Jared Hughes. When the Reds called the left-handed Garrett out of the bullpen, Snitker opted not to pinch-hit Johan Camargo. He instead stuck with Inciarte, who was 5-for-14 against southpaws. He grounded out to second to end the inning.

Inciarte was 4-for-6 against Garrett, but most of that damage was done during a 2017 game during which he went 3-for-3 with a homer against the Cincinnati southpaw.

“He’s been swinging the bat good off lefties,” Snitker said. “If they don’t pitch to Camargo there, we’ve got a left-on-left again. Ender had swung the bat good off him. He’s seeing the ball well against lefties and I just went with it.”

Thwarted ninth-inning rally

Had Camargo pinch-hit in the eighth and been intentionally walked, Garrett would have faced Joyce, who ended up opening the ninth with a double against Raisel Iglesias. Albies ripped a first-pitch fastball foul past the first-base bag. But instead of attempting to pull another pitch to the right side and get Joyce to third base, the 22-year-old second baseman opted to bunt and produced a harmless popup caught behind the plate.

“He was just trying to push one down the line,” Snitker said. “Whatever he’s got confidence doing.”