CINCINNATI -- At a point in the season when the Reds should be putting their foot on the gas and taking control of their postseason destiny, they’ve been essentially daring other clubs to take it away from them.

A 4-1 loss to the Tigers on Sunday at Great American Ball Park gave Cincinnati (73-65) a season-high four consecutive series losses and defeats in six of its past eight games. After the Padres’ win against Houston, the Reds sit half a game behind San Diego for the second National League Wild Card spot.

• Box score

“Personally, I don’t check any box scores or do any of that,” said center fielder Tyler Naquin, who had two hits and notched two outfield assists defensively in the eighth inning. “I just know if I show up and take care of my job, and the guy next to me takes care of his job, and down the lineup and on the mound, we’re going to be in a good spot.”

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As he has done throughout the season, manager David Bell also maintained a positive tenor.

“I think the motivation is there just because of the position we're in,” Bell said. “I think that's all the motivation you need. We go out to win every single game. We are where we are today after this game, and we have a lot left to look forward to and important games to play in, and we're excited. We're going to enjoy it and we're looking forward to tomorrow already and we can't wait.”

With a remaining strength of schedule that is second easiest in the Major Leagues behind Philadelphia, Cincinnati has not yet taken advantage. Series losses over the past month have happened against the Tigers, Marlins and Cubs -- all non-contenders -- plus the Brewers and Cardinals.

Still, there is a chance to catch fire again during the longest road trip of the season -- 11 days and nine games -- that opens on Monday at Wrigley Field. After facing the Cubs again, Cincinnati will follow with the Cardinals and Pirates.

The Reds have a 10-6 record this season against Chicago, and are 9-7 against St. Louis and 9-1 against Pittsburgh.

“If we do anything but move on and look forward to what we have ahead of us, that would be a mistake,” Bell said.

Reds starting pitcher Luis Castillo lost his third consecutive start and fifth of his past six after he pitched six innings and allowed three runs (one earned), on four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. In four of those losses, the offense has scored one or no runs for Castillo, who has remarkably seen his record drop to 7-15 with a 4.20 ERA.

"We beat a really good pitcher today,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “I know he didn't get off to a great start this season, but if you ask the hitters -- not just our hitters, but the hitters around the league -- there's not a lot of guys racing up to the batter's box. You've got to pack a lunch and be ready for a battle against him.”

It was a scoreless game when the Tigers broke through against Castillo in the top of the sixth inning. It involved some bad breaks for the pitcher, however.

Akil Baddoo led off with a slow roller to the left side against the shift that went for a double. With one out, Robbie Grossman grounded a ball off the backhanded glove of first baseman Joey Votto for an error. Jeimer Candelario rolled a two-run triple down the right-field line and scored on an Eric Haase sacrifice fly to make it a 3-0 game.

“It’s all just part of the game,” Castillo said via translator Jorge Merlos. “It’s nothing frustrating for me. I’m there trying to get the best opportunity for this team to win right there in the long run. I wanted to grind out that sixth inning and give us the opportunity to win right there.”

Tigers rookie starter Casey Mize -- on a pitch limit -- threw three perfect innings, but the Reds notched five hits against José Ureña without doing damage. Their best rally started from a pair of one-out hits in the fourth inning, but it ended when Votto lined into a double play. Detroit added a fourth run against reliever Brad Brach in the eighth when Baddoo scored from first base on Jonathan Schoop’s single to center field.

In the bottom of the eighth inning against Tigers reliever José Cisnero, Max Schrock fouled off nine pitches and worked a 13-pitch walk, then reached third base after Jonathan India’s single. Closer Gregory Soto’s wild pitch to pinch-hitter Asdrúbal Cabrera scored Schrock. After Cabrera walked to bring the tying run to the plate, Soto struck out Nick Castellanos and Votto.

“You don’t ever want to have consecutive losses. Even one for that matter,” Naquin said. “We just got to keep playing the game. We still got [24] games or something like that, and a couple of weeks to finalize a spot and keep playing baseball. Keep playing hard, man.”