MILWAUKEE -- Eric Lauer eventually got it going in his return to the rotation, but by the time he did, the Brewers’ offense had short-circuited in what became a blowout loss to the Reds.

Lauer’s early command trouble contributed to a deficit and Milwaukee’s bats went hitless over the final seven frames as the Reds pulled away Monday at American Family Field, where a 10-2 loss brought the Brewers back to Earth after victories in their previous four games, 14 of 16 and 17 of 21.

Seven days into a stretch of 16 games in as many days and 33 games in 34 days leading to the All-Star break, Brewers officials remain convinced that giving their top starters extra rest is critical to navigating a 162-game regular season after 60 games in 2020. That means they’ll need a sixth starter at times, and with Josh Lindblom already off the 40-man roster and working to get back on track at Triple-A Nashville, that assignment lately has fallen to Lauer, the 26-year-old left-hander bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen, 19 months removed from coming to Milwaukee in a trade and still seeking a foothold.

“He’s had some great innings; he’s had some rough innings, really. Not a lot of in between, really, has probably been his story,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “But we need him. In the course of a 162-game season, we’re going to need him.”

Lauer has been upfront that this isn’t his preferred role, moving between the rotation and the bullpen, and between the Major Leagues and Triple-A Nashville. But it’s the role he has been tasked with.

“I think it’s really tough going back and forth from the bullpen, but I'm not the first person to do it, and I'm probably not going to be the last,” Lauer said this week. “So you kind of have to just earn your stripes when you're in there and make the most of your opportunity.”

In flashes, Lauer has bordered on excellence. But those flashes have been fleeting.

Through his first 50 pitches Monday, Lauer faced 11 batters and surrendered four earned runs on four hits and three walks, putting the Brewers in a 4-1 hole four outs into his outing.

Then, on the next 40 pitches after making an adjustment to generate more drive from his left leg, Lauer faced 13 batters and allowed no more runs on one base hit and one walk while getting 11 more outs. 

“I wish I had that second inning back. It's one of the things where I got to get better at those blow-up innings,” Lauer said. “It's almost like golf a little bit, where you have that big missed hole and it just ruins your score. It's how I feel with just a random inning.”

After 33 innings in 2021, Lauer’s ERA is 5.18. He had a promising start against the Padres on May 26 (six innings, one earned run), but since then, he’s allowed 13 earned runs in 11 innings over two starts and one relief appearance.

Daniel Vogelbach homered in a third consecutive game against the Reds for a 1-1 tie after one inning and Lauer lifted a sacrifice fly in the second to make it 4-2, but the Brewers couldn’t muster any more offense against Reds starter Vladimir Gutierrez and three relievers. The Brewers’ only baserunner after the second was Christian Yelich, who drew a walk leading off the sixth.

The Reds, meanwhile, capitalized on their early lead by drawing the lower-leverage wing of the Brewers’ bullpen and doing damage. Eric Yardley pitched a scoreless sixth inning before yielding Joey Votto’s two-run home run in the seventh. Hunter Strickland pitched a scoreless eighth in his Brewers debut, but the Reds scored four runs off left-hander Hoby Milner in the ninth to make it a blowout.

“[Lauer] kept us in the game and gave us a chance,” Vogelbach said. “He seemed like he was searching early, then he settled in and pitched really well. He got out of some big jams and made some big pitches when he had to. Obviously, we want to do a better job of putting runs on the board, but credit to Gutierrez for pitching well and keeping us off balance.”

Gutierrez is 3-1 with a 2.74 ERA in four starts for the Reds, including consecutive outings against the Brewers in which he’s allowed a combined four runs in 13 innings.

“You have to give credit where credit is due,” Vogelbach said. “He’s just a guy in a groove right now who’s doing what he wants on the mound.”