CINCINNATI -- As the Reds try to keep their lead for the second National League Wild Card spot, their grasp could become perilous if the offense doesn't roar back to life soon.
Another left-handed starting pitcher quieted the bats again. This time, it was veteran Jon Lester, who gave up one hit as Cincinnati was handed a 3-1 defeat by St. Louis on Monday night. The Cardinals, who are chasing the the Reds for the second Wild Card spot, now trail by just 2 1/2 games. The Padres are half a game back.
"I think every time we play the Cardinals, we put a star by those games," Reds shortstop Kyle Farmer said. "They are one of our division rivals. It’s always fun playing them and it’s always a competitive atmosphere, but they are on our tail right now. We have to come out and win [Tuesday]."
Lester gave up Farmer's solo home run to open the bottom of the second inning, then he went on to retire the next 16 batters in a row. The next baserunner for the Reds was Joey Votto, who drew a one-out walk in the seventh inning as Lester's final batter.
"I was fortunate enough to hit one of his only, or few, mistakes of the night,' said Farmer, who snapped an 0-for-14 slump. "I was lucky to get that pitch. He’s good and he was on tonight, so credit to him."
After Monday's loss, Cincinnati is ranked last in the Major Leagues with a .225 average vs. lefties. The club will see another one on Wednesday with the Cardinals scheduled to start J.A. Happ. But the problem lately isn't just limited to southpaws. Reds hitters batted .202 with just 18 runs scored during the most recent road trip through Milwaukee and Miami, in which they went 2-4.
The Reds have been held to one run in each of their last three games -- all losses.
"From our standpoint, we’re confident we will figure it out. We will hit," Reds manager David Bell said.
Luis Castillo gave the Reds six innings and allowed three runs on five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. It was the second start in a row Castillo pitched well without reward. The offense scored one run for him on Wednesday, when he gave up two runs in a 4-1 loss to the Brewers.
Castillo had a 2-0 deficit just two batters into the evening when Tommy Edman's leadoff walk was followed by Paul Goldschmidt's two-run homer to right field. The right-hander immediately righted himself by retiring the next eight batters in a row -- with five strikeouts -- and 12 of his next 14.
"I was able to make the adjustments afterwards to get the batters I needed to get them out in the rest of my outing," Castillo said via interpreter Jorge Merlos. "Just battling out there as much as possible."
In the top of the sixth inning, Dylan Carlson hit a one-out double and alertly took third base on a tough groundout to third by Nolan Arenado. That set up St. Louis' third run, when Carlson scored on a squibbed hit to the left side. Playing way back, Eugenio Suárez had no chance to make a play, and the Cardinals had a two-run lead.
Lester's night was done after Votto drew a walk in the seventh. There was a chance for the Reds to rally when lefty reliever T.J. McFarland gave up Cincinnati's only other hit -- again by Farmer. It was a ground-rule double to the left-field corner that prevented Votto from scoring a run had the play stayed in play.
Suárez followed with a grounder to third base that had Votto running on contact. Arenado cut down Votto with a throw to the plate, and Tyler Naquin was called out on strikes to extinguish the rally.
Since the All-Star break, the Reds still lead the NL in runs, hits and homers while ranking second in OPS. That gives them reason to believe that the past several games can be a blip. But some key hitters are also struggling, and one has been missing altogether.
• An NL MVP contender, Votto is 3-for-28 (.107) with no homers and 14 strikeouts in his last nine games.
• Jonathan India, the leading NL Rookie of the Year contender, is 7-for-45 (.156) with 13 strikeouts over his last 13 games.
• The lineup has missed left fielder Jesse Winker's production. Winker, who has been on the 10-day injured list since Aug. 16 with an intercostal strain, has started throwing but hasn't tried swinging a bat yet.
"There’s not much pressing going on with the guys," Farmer said. "Guys come in, get their work in, do their routines and go about their business. But you look back, we’ve played some really, really, really, really good pitching the past five to six games. We had [Corbin] Burnes, then [Brandon] Woodruff, then we faced [Sandy] Alcantara, then the lefty [Jesús Luzardo]. … Those guys get paid a lot of money to get us out. So I think we just have to come out and do our job."