CINCINNATI -- By the time Friday’s game reached the ninth inning, fans inside Great American Ball Park were expressing their displeasure with a rapidly approaching eighth straight loss.
They were already looking forward to Oz “The Mentalist” Pearlman entertaining them and perhaps taking their mind off a 10-0 rout at the hands of the Astros.
It was the fourth time in the eight losses the Reds had allowed at least eight runs, and it was the third time in those eight that catcher Jose Trevino had to be used to preserve an overworked bullpen.
“I don't ever think our guys don't compete,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “I never feel that way. It's not going the way we want to right now, that's for sure. But this is when me and the coaches [have] to be there for them. We're going to go through this with them. This is always going to be us.
“It's not going to be us when we win, and [them] when we don't win. And I think they know that they won't quit on us. We won't quit on them. We'll keep fighting.”
In this brutal stretch of losses, the silver lining on Friday night was the return of left-hander Nick Lodolo.
Lodolo returned from a blister on his left index finger that forced him to miss the first six weeks of the season. With the exception of a pair of two-run home runs from Zach Dezenzo and Yordan Alvarez, the returns on Lodolo in his first big league start of the year were promising.
He threw 78 pitches -- 53 strikes -- allowing four runs on five hits and one walk over 5 1/3 innings, striking out two.
“I actually like the way I kind of spun it, like looking at everything today, I thought it was pretty solid,” Lodolo said of his outing, which featured an even blend of changeup, four-seam fastball, sinker and curve.
There was no moment that Lodolo stared at that left index finger. After giving up the homer to Dezenzo in the second -- a home run in only 14 of 30 MLB parks -- Lodolo retired 10 of the next 11 Houston batters before hitting Jose Altuve with one out in the sixth.
Lodolo then tried to get ahead with a first-pitch 94.6 mph fastball vs. Alvarez. But it caught too much of the plate at the knees and Alvarez, who already is tied with the Yankees' Aaron Judge for the second-hardest-hit ball this season, torched the pitch at a Statcast-projected 115.9 mph to the seats in right for a 4-0 lead. The two homers spoiled what was otherwise a feel-good night for Lodolo.
“Obviously, the two home run pitches you'd like to have back,” Lodolo said. “But overall, I thought I threw the ball better than what I feel like I probably did, just because those two definitely stand out. Two two-run homers is going to definitely put you in a tough spot. So overall, though, just move on in the next one.”
“I actually thought he threw the ball pretty well,” Francona said of his lefty. “The first home run -- he got a fastball by him, and then he elevated it, and [Dezenzo] got enough to get it out. The next one to Alvarez, I think he was trying to go away and it leaked back in. You don't want to give that kid something he can handle in there.”
The Reds had one good chance to get themselves back in the game. Down only 2-0, JJ Bleday opened the fourth against Houston starter Mike Burrows with a walk. Following an Elly De La Cruz lineout to left, Sal Stewart and Nathaniel Lowe singled to load the bases. But Spencer Steer flied out to right and Tyler Stephenson struck out swinging, the boos beginning as Stephenson made his way back to the dugout.
Those boos only got louder as the night progressed, reflecting the frustration of the fans and players alike.
“I get it. I mean everyone wants to win,” Cincinnati third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes said. “I mean, we want to win more than anyone. But we’ve got to be better. If we don't want to hear boos, we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to win games.”
Added Francona, “I don't think this has been a real fun week for anybody. But actually, I believe in them so much and their ability to fight through things, and we're going to have to do that right now. But sometimes when it's the hardest to believe you have to, and we'll figure it out. And if we go in the same direction, we'll figure it out together.”