CINCINNATI -- It's September baseball, and his team is fighting for a playoff berth. That's why Reds manager David Bell wasn't afraid to take some chances during Friday's sixth inning in a stalled comeback effort vs. the Cardinals.

Cincinnati may be tied for the Major League lead in come-from-behind victories, but this attempt fell short for a costly 9-4 loss to St. Louis at Great American Ball Park.

“It felt like we were going to fight our way back into it every step of the way. It’s happened a lot," Bell said. "Unfortunately, it can’t happen every single time.”

• Games remaining: vs. STL (2), at DET (3), at NYM (3), vs. MIN (3), vs. PIT (3), at CLE (2), at STL (3)
• Standings update: The Reds (73-70) dropped to 1 1/2 games behind the D-backs (74-68) for the third National League Wild Card spot with the Marlins a game ahead of them. If it comes down to it, Cincinnati holds the tiebreaker over the D-backs and would have to resort to intradivision records to settle a tiebreaker with the Marlins.

It wasn't a good night for Reds rookie starter Andrew Abbott, who gave up six earned runs on four hits and three walks over four innings. Two-out walks hurt the most and led to runs. In the first inning, Abbott walked Paul Goldschmidt, who scored on Willson Contreras' three-run home run. In the third, Abbott walked Goldschmidt and Contreras, who scored on Luken Baker's three-run double, which put the Reds in a 6-0 hole.

But with 44 comeback wins this season, they were not out of the game.  Cincinnati halved the deficit against Cardinals lefty starter Drew Rom in the bottom of the third.

Hunter Renfroe hit a two-run homer to left-center field, and Nick Senzel added a one-out solo homer to left-center field.

In the fourth inning with runners on the corners, the Reds executed a double steal. As Spencer Steer drew a throw as he swiped second base, Noelvi Marte broke for home and scored.

Bell and Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol engaged in a chess match that anticipated matchups of bullpens and bench players. After Marmol went to a right-handed reliever, Bell put in lefty pinch-hitters TJ Friedl and Nick Martini in the fifth inning.

"It’s always a back and forth every time you play with these guys, but that's the fun part, too," Marmol said.

Right-handed reliever Casey Lawrence was pitching for St. Louis when Luke Maile was hit by a pitch. Bell lifted Harrison Bader and used lefty Will Benson to pinch-hit before he reached on a fielder's choice.

After Lawrence walked Renfroe with two outs, lefty Matthew Liberatore was summoned to face Elly De La Cruz. The switch-hitter flipped to bat right-handed -- his weaker side -- but walked to extend the inning.

Against Liberatore in the sixth inning, Bell called on righty Tyler Stephenson to pinch-hit for Friedl, who had just come in to pinch-hit for Senzel an inning earlier.

Stephenson, who was batting .375 over his previous 19 games, struck out on a full-count fastball to end the inning.

“Liberatore made the pitch of the game right there," Bell said. "Tyler has been swinging the bat well. He’s had a lot of success as a pinch-hitter. We got him up there, they made a pitch and got out of it.”

After that, Bell’s bench was depleted. They still had Jake Fraley, but he is limited to designated hitter duty because of a bad toe. Bell got creative by moving first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand to play right field for the first time in the big leagues and second time professionally.

For the first time since April 30, Stephenson played first base. Benson played center field for only the fourth time in 2023.

With one out in the seventh inning, Reds reliever Fernando Cruz hit his first batter in Tommy Edman, who stole second, and walked Tyler O'Neill. A pair of wild pitches by Cruz -- who was activated from the COVID-19 injured list on Friday -- brought home Edman with a run. Cruz had gone nine previous outings without giving up an earned run.

Nolan Arenado followed with a blooped RBI single to short left field. Martini -- who isn't as fleet of foot as Senzel, Friedl or Benson -- had no chance as the ball landed in front of him.

“In a down game, you just do absolutely anything you can to get back into the game," Bell said. "It’s not something we typically do. We don’t start games that way [defensively], but in a down game, it’s worth having a chance at it."

Overall, the Reds were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 on base.

“We had a lot of opportunities tonight," Maile said. "Everything from basically the first inning, there were a lot of missed chances and some play that’s just not sustainable. We’re not going to win games playing like that. It’s going to happen. We’ll bounce back from it.”