CINCINNATI -- Considering the preseason expectations for the Reds and their decent first month, the current situation would have seemed hard to fathom.

A 6-4 loss to the Padres in 10 innings on Thursday at Great American Ball Park has Cincinnati (20-30) at least 10 games below .500 for the first time since it ended the 2022 season 62-100. By losing two of three to San Diego, the Reds are 0-8-1 in nine series since they swept the Angels April 19-21.

“It’s adding up. It’s not a secret," catcher Luke Maile said. "We’re playing good enough to win games and we keep losing close ones. If there’s a positive, it’s definitely the fact that our offense has, to a degree, snapped out of it. We’re in these games. We are not doing enough to win them."

It was a 4-4 game in the top of the 10th inning for reliever Sam Moll when Luis Arraez dropped a perfect bunt near the first base line for a single that put runners on the corners. Fernando Tatis Jr.'s RBI double and a sacrifice fly from Jake Cronenworth with the bases loaded won the game for the Padres.

Although sitting in last place in the National League Central Division, the Reds' minus-11 run differential for the season supports Maile's belief. The club's expected win-loss or pythagorean record says it should be better at 24-26, which would put them ahead of the Cardinals and Pirates for third place.

That means the Reds, who are also a league-worst 1-11 in one-run games, are underperforming.

“This is a results-oriented business. It’s not the try-league," Maile said. "You have to get it done. Within that, there’s a lot of process stuff that we’re sticking to and will [do] because we’re adults and we’re big leaguers and that’s what we’re paid to do. That’s not to say that it’s easy. It’s incredibly difficult right now."

Always unapologetically aggressive on the bases, a pair of baserunning plays from the Reds proved pivotal. With two outs and runners on the corners in the bottom of the first inning, Spencer Steer broke to steal. As the throw went to second base, Jeimer Candelario attempted a delayed steal of home. San Diego was ready for it and shortstop Ha-Seong Kim caught the ball and quickly fired a perfect throw to get Candelario at the plate.

“[The Padres] did execute it. Close play at the plate," Reds manager David Bell said. "We’ve scored runs in those situations a lot this year. We’ll have to take a closer look at it to make sure we ran that properly.”

In the fifth inning, Elly De La Cruz was on third base with one out when Candelario grounded to third base. As instructed, De La Cruz broke for home on contact but was thrown out at the plate by Manny Machado.

Those are the types of plays that often worked for the athletic Reds in their go-go 2023 contending season.

“With Elly’s speed, anything is possible," Bell said. "We go on contact there with a lot of our runners, for sure with Elly. I’m not going to say nobody else makes the play, but Machado is very good over there. He made a great play."

A brutally tough schedule continues as the Dodgers visit next for a three-game series. Cincinnati dropped three of four games last weekend at Los Angeles, including an extra-innings one-run loss on Sunday.

After that, the Reds finally have a chance to make up ground in their division. They haven't played an NL Central team since the Brewers on April 9-10 but will play in the division in three of the next four series. The Cardinals arrive on Monday for three games, followed by a road trip vs. the Cubs and the struggling Rockies and then the Cubs again at home.

“It’s been tough on all of us," said Reds starter Frankie Montas, who completed six innings for a no-decision after a shaky first two innings. "We’ve obviously been thinking about it and talking about it. One thing for sure is we’re doing all we can. … I’m starting to believe that things are going to start going the right way for us soon.”