ANAHEIM -- Raisel Iglesias very quickly found himself in trouble when he entered Wednesday’s game against the Angels. With the score tied in the bottom of the eighth, he walked Mike Trout and gave up a base hit to Shohei Ohtani to put runners on the corners with no one out.

Iglesias nearly escaped the jam. But with two outs and runners on second and third, an infield single by David Fletcher broke the tie, and Justin Bour’s second home run of the game put things out of reach for the Reds who, for the second consecutive night, fell to the Angels at Angel Stadium, 5-1.

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As on Tuesday, the Reds’ only run came via a solo shot, this time off the bat of Yasiel Puig. They had other scoring opportunities -- leadoff hitters reached base in the third, sixth and seventh -- but timely hits remained elusive, as the team collectively went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

“They want to be up in those situations,” manager David Bell said of his hitters. “It didn’t work out today, we didn’t get the big hit. But these games, this little stretch here, really test your resilience to bounce back. We were playing so well, now we’ve lost a few, and it’s a great challenge.

“This is what happens with good teams that have good seasons -- you find a way to bounce back. Friday, going into the homestand, will be very important.”

Indeed, this upcoming nine-game homestand to close out the first half will be a significant test for the Reds, who have now followed a six-game winning streak by losing four in a row. The ten-game stretch is a microcosm of Cincinnati’s season, as consistency in general has been difficult for the Reds to come by.

Some of it is poor luck. At 36-42, the Reds are vastly underperforming their Pythagorean expected win-loss record of 44-34. That projected winning percentage of .563 would have them first in the National League Central by two games, instead of six games back in last place, where they currently sit.

As suggested by the Pythagorean record, the problem for the Reds hasn’t been pitching. The rotation’s 3.80 ERA is fourth best in the NL, though that’s mostly because of ace Luis Castillo -- whose 2.56 ERA is third best among qualified NL starters -- and Wednesday’s starter, Tanner Roark, who improved his numbers by allowing one run in 5 1/3 innings against the Angels.

The Reds’ bullpen leads the NL with a 3.37 ERA, led by Amir Garrett’s 1.80 ERA, which is fifth among qualified NL relievers. That’s the case even after Iglesias’ tough outing on Wednesday, which was something a blip in an otherwise strong season.

“We want Raisel pitching in that situation,” Bell said of his reliever, whose ERA rose over a point from 2.84 to 3.86 with the four runs allowed. “He was gonna pitch today anyway, and it’s the heart of the lineup, and we want him in the game right there. It didn’t work out today.”

If the Reds are hoping to get right, it’s going to be a matter of the offense clicking in ways it hasn’t yet managed to do with frequency. Reds hitters have combined for a weighted runs created plus (wRC+) of 84 (100 being average), third lowest in the NL.

Some things are trending in the right direction, though. After Puig’s slow start, he’s posted a .970 OPS for the month of June. Derek Dietrich is having a career year with 18 home runs and a 137 wRC+. Joey Votto, who’s been having something of a down year, saw significant improvements over the past month-plus, raising his OPS by 100 points since May 12.

And getting home may help. The Reds have played two games above .500 at Great American Ball Park, whereas they’re eight games under on the road.

“We’re happy to get back there, no question,” said Bell. “We love playing there, we love playing in our ballpark in front of our fans. … So it’ll be good, we have a stretch of games before the All-Star break, and we’re gonna give it everything we have and get back on a roll.

“Guys are confident, we know we can do it, and we continue to work hard and try to get better, so it’ll be fun to see how we do over the next 10 days.”

As if it weren’t important enough for the Reds to get back on track quickly, their next two series come against NL Central rivals. The homestand begins with a three-game set against the Cubs, against whom the Reds are 4-2 this season. That’ll be followed by four games against the Brewers, whom the Reds have gone 3-6 against.

Playing in one of the most packed divisions in baseball with three months to go, nothing is decided yet. But heading into the All-Star break on a strong note would go a long way toward showing that the Reds still have a fighting shot at contention.