CINCINNATI -- Vince Velasquez and Gabe Kapler cleared the air Wednesday. They said everything is cool.

“It was a great talk,” Velasquez said.

Did they hug it out?

“Yeah,” Velasquez joked. “After every meeting we always hug.”

Velasquez expressed his frustrations to The Athletic following Tuesday night’s 6-2 victory over the Reds at Great American Ball Park. Kapler pinch-hit for Velasquez with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning and the Phillies holding a 2-1 lead. Velasquez said pulling him early showed a lack of confidence in him.

“I mean, it just sucks,” Velasquez said. “If you put yourself in my shoes, you wouldn’t want to go three innings, right? I mean, there is some frustration there. But again, you have to understand the big picture and the big picture is winning. Bottom line.”

The bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning actually seemed like a perfect spot to try to break open the game, especially with an expanded bench and bullpen. Velasquez has a 5.28 ERA in 13 starts since his return to the rotation in June. He has pitched more than five innings just three times.

“I always believe actions are the most important thing, so when he was inserted back into the rotation after making some really important adjustments, that was a real demonstration of confidence,” Kapler said. “And since then he’s made every start, and that’s a demonstration of confidence. He’s going to pitch on Sunday [against the Mets at Citi Field], and that’s a demonstration of confidence.

“When you hit for a guy early in a bases-loaded situation with a great weapon off the bench with a full bullpen in September, it’s not an indication that we don’t feel confident in somebody. It’s an indication that we have the kind of roster that can support a decision like that.”

Kapler said he understood Velasquez’s frustration. He has been there, too.

“One thing I shared with Vince is when you don’t get an opportunity that you really want, somebody else is getting an opportunity that they really want,” Kapler said. “I remember getting pinch-hit for. Terry Francona used to say to me, ‘Kap, give me a look before you go up there.’ I knew what that meant. He might want to pinch-hit for me. So I’d look back and he’d give me one of these [waves]. You learn the more it happens that your manager is trying to get what he perceives to be a marginal upgrade, and you start to get it.

“When I’ve done that with some of our veteran hitters, they might not like it, they probably don’t, but they understand it because they’ve seen it, they’ve felt it, they’ve been around it long enough and they’re able to separate -- it never stops sucking, but you get it, and you become more aware of it.”

Said Velasquez: “When you have the opportunity to get more runs, especially in a crucial time that we’re in right now, [chasing] a Wild Card spot, we have the opportunity to win some games to continue the winning streak, I would say, ‘Make your move, Kap.’ If that’s what you feel, then all right.”

Extra bases

• Third baseman Maikel Franco is expected to join the active roster for Thursday’s series finale. He is expected to be a bat off the bench for the final month of the season.

• Right-hander Seranthony Domínguez has been give the OK to resume his throwing program. He has been on the injured list since June with an injured UCL in his right elbow. There is no timetable for his return.