SAN FRANCISCO -- The Reds could be without first baseman Joey Votto in their lineup Tuesday after he exited Monday's 10-7 loss to the Giants with lower back tightness.
Votto departed before the bottom of the fourth inning and was replaced in the field by Adam Duvall.
In the top of the third inning, Votto hit a single to left field and went to second base on Gregor Blanco's fielding error that let the ball get by him. Votto appeared to be laboring as he ran out of the batter's box.
"It just kind of cropped up on him and became more and more uncomfortable," Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said. "He let me know before the game it was nagging a little bit. He insisted, 'I want to play.' He just wasn't going to be able to run real hard. When the left fielder missed the ball on his single, he kind of had to turn it up a little bit and go and really looked uncomfortable. We decided to get him out of there."
The hit extended Votto's hitting streak to six games, tying his season high. He has reached base safely in 27 of his last 28 games since April 15. He is batting .291/.414/.446 with six home runs and 23 RBIs in 41 games this season - including a .375 average over his last 11 games.
"He'll be working with the trainer tonight," Riggleman said. "When he comes in tomorrow, we'll re-evaluate it. We might end up giving him the day tomorrow."
When asked about how his back was feeling after the game, Votto deflected with humor.
"I was feeling pretty good and then that earthquake hit and all of a sudden everything got thrown off right around 7:18 p.m. in the middle of my first at-bat," Votto joked. "Oh, I got taken out of the game because of it, are you kidding me? I'm a sensitive soul."

During Votto's first at-bat, a small earthquake did occur and was measured at 3.5 according to the USGS. It did not appear noticeable to most at AT&T Park but was picked up by a broadcast television camera.