ST. LOUIS -- On Saturday, it was a night for the Reds where the pain was equal parts physical and emotional, literally and figuratively.
After taking a four-run lead, the Reds surrendered six unanswered runs and lost to the Cardinals, 6-4, at Busch Stadium. Also lost during the game was center fielder Tyler Naquin because of a collision with a teammate. The game was capped by reliever Lucas Sims giving up a two-run homer to Nolan Arenado in the bottom of the eighth inning to snap a 4-4 tie.
"That's a tough game," Reds manager David Bell said.
While the defeat stung, Cincinnati remains deadlocked with San Diego in the National League Wild Card race for the second spot after the Padres lost to the Dodgers on Saturday.
The Cardinals, though, gained ground on both clubs before Sunday's series rubber game.
"Every single game that we play here on out, we need to win," said Nick Castellanos, who hit a two-run home run in the third inning that gave the Reds a 4-0 advantage.
In the sixth inning, Tyler O'Neill squibbed a two-out ball near the mound and was called out at first base on pitcher Luis Castillo's hurried throw. The Cardinals used a review challenge and the call was overturned to extend the inning.
"Sometimes, the replay does come in and is a bigger factor in some games than others. Tonight was one of those nights," said Bell, who successfully challenged a slide by Harrison Bader in the fifth inning for a double play that erased a St. Louis run.
Arenado extended the sixth inning with an RBI double. The next batter, Dylan Carlson, hit a fly ball to short center field. Jose Barrero and Naquin collided as the ball landed, leaving Carlson with a game-tying RBI double. Both Barrero and Naquin spent several moments on the ground and were each looked over by athletic trainers and Bell.
“It’s one of those things that you just hold your breath, really. That’s all you do," Castellanos said. "I’m not going to lie. As soon as I saw them collide, I didn’t even know where the ball went. I was going to go to Naquin either way. It’s scary."
Naquin and Barrero got up under their own power. But Naquin was lifted from the game and later diagnosed with bruised ribs.
"Very scary, but thankfully they’re going to be OK. No concussion concerns for either guy," Bell said. “[Barrero] might have a pretty good bruise on his quad area, but Naq, he’s very fortunate. We’re all very thankful that he came out of that and he’s OK. Just the bruised ribs, we’ll keep a close eye on him."
"I was just praying that none of them got any bad injuries, and fortunate enough, they didn’t get any bad injuries," Castillo said via translator Jorge Merlos. "After that, it was just moving on and moving forward."
Castillo finished seven innings and gave up four runs, eight hits and one walk with five strikeouts. It was a 4-4 game in the bottom of the eighth when the ball went to Sims, who struck out the side just one night earlier in a win.
First, Sims gave up a one-out double to left-center field to Paul Goldschmidt. With two outs and a 1-0 count, Arenado hit a two-run homer to left field.
"Lucas has been pitching as well as anyone. His stuff has been just unbelievably good," Bell said. "That's what happens when you go up against good hitters, some of the best in the game. We definitely won't let his confidence get hurt from that. He's been so good, definitely going in the right direction, fully back and healthy. We'll take that every single time, having Lucas out there. You've got to give those guys credit, especially against Lucas with his stuff."