SEATTLE -- When a pitcher throws a gem like Seattle starter Bryce Miller did on Wednesday against the Reds, sometimes even big league hitters can only take a swing and hope for the best.

In the second inning Wednesday against the Mariners, the Reds appeared to finally have a bit of hope in a tough series when Elly De La Cruz blasted a Statcast-projected 391-foot home run to right field off Miller to give the Reds a 1-0 lead.

One batter later, catcher Tyler Stephenson drew a walk to give the Reds a chance to continue the scoring with two outs.

They didn’t know it at the time, but the Reds’ offensive output was done for the day, as Mariners pitching set down each of the final 22 Cincinnati hitters to secure a three-game sweep in a 5-1 Reds loss at T-Mobile Park.

Miller was flawless outside of the second inning, giving the Reds fits with his tough four-seamer/split-finger/sweeper combo and striking out seven batters, five of them looking. Seattle’s bullpen added on five more, giving Cincinnati a total of 12 strikeouts on the day.

“When they’re throwing strikes and pitching to the big part of the field, I think that’s a good strategy,” manager David Bell said. “It wasn’t a complete loss; as a hitter, you have to keep that in perspective. But mainly with [Miller's] fastball, I mean, they have really good arms. High velocity and they throw where they want it. When they do that, it can make it tough.”

De La Cruz was a bright spot for the Reds yet again, with his homer and a standout defensive play on a grounder from Mitch Haniger in the third.

“That was a really good play, deep in the hole, and he’s been feeling good at the plate and continuing to get more comfortable,” Bell said. “The main thing for Elly is just every single day find a way to get better, no matter what the results are. He’s doing a really good job of staying steady and consistent with his work.”

While Miller threw a gem, Reds starter Andrew Abbott was nearly just as good. He gave up four hits over six innings and made just two mistakes, as Cal Raleigh tied the game with a solo shot for Seattle in the bottom of the second and Mitch Garver gave Seattle the lead with a homer in the sixth.

“Just a few mistake pitches, and they put some good swings on them,” Abbott said. “But other than that, I was able to execute and keep them off balance and do some early and soft contact. I was able to spot up some pitches and whatnot, but Major League hitters are going to hit mistakes. They just put some good swings on those two.”

With Miller mowing down Reds hitters left and right, those two homers were all the Mariners would need.

But the team poured it on in the seventh against reliever Lucas Sims, with a pinch-hit homer from Josh Rojas, an RBI single from Haniger and a bases-loaded walk from Raleigh to make it a 5-1 game.

Sims was pulled after walking three consecutive batters and was replaced by Alexis Díaz, who pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Seattle’s Trent Thornton, Gabe Speier, and Austin Voth combined for three perfect innings.

“These [Mariners] can pitch, there is no question about it,” Bell said. “Of course you never want to get swept, but three games, that doesn’t define our team by any means. Not happy about this and how it went, but they made it tough, they really did.”

The Reds were without two of their starters on Wednesday, as first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand was scratched from the lineup and third baseman Jeimer Candelario was out for the second straight day with flu-like symptoms.

While going without two important bats made a difference in the series, the Reds didn’t want to point to their sickness and injury troubles as the reason they walked away winless in Seattle.

“We have the guys capable on the roster that if somebody goes down or somebody’s sick for a few days, we can easily fill their slots,” Abbott said. “It just comes down to, they have really good pitchers, they were able to execute on us. We know that the hitting is going to come around the pitching, we should just stay steady.”