CHICAGO -- If the Reds hope to stay afloat in their quest to compete for the National League Central title, they know that there’s little room for error.

And as they continue to play meaningful games down the stretch, they’ll be getting a taste of October -- as games like Tuesday night’s 4-3, 10-inning loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field simulated a playoff atmosphere, with plenty of tense moments and high-leverage at-bats.

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“As disappointing as it is to lose a game, what a great game,” manager David Bell said. “I feel great about the way we’re competing and battling. We have to find ways to continue to get better and score runs to get that edge. It’s fun to be a part of games like this.”

But games like this show you just how fine the line is between a victory celebration and a disappointing defeat.

While catcher Kyle Farmer called for a chest-high fastball, Raisel Iglesias' 1-1 pitch ended up being six inches lower, and Kyle Schwarber sent the pitch into the left-field basket for a homer, his first career walk-off of any kind.

Iglesias had given Bell and the Reds 3 2/3 scoreless innings over the last 72 hours as the entire Cincinnati bullpen stepped up before the Cubs' late heroics.

“We kind of needed that -- the way Iglesias still had his [stuff]. That was the third day in a row he pitched, and he still had really good stuff into that second inning,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “So, it was almost like one of those things -- somebody's got to walk into one. It was going to be hard to string something together, I thought.”

“Raisel, you can’t ask for much more out of a guy,” Bell said. “What he did last night, and then to come back tonight. One pitch. It’s too bad, because it shouldn’t take away from what he did and his performance tonight.”

The Reds' pitching staff has shown up in what is a key series for the team. Residing 6 1/2 games behind the division-leading Cubs, there has never been a better time for them to do so.

Backed by a three-run first inning, which was ignited by Eugenio Suárez's 23rd home run and his second in as many games, starter Anthony DeSclafani followed up Luis Castillo’s solid outing with one of his own, allowing three runs -- on homers from Robel Garcia and Kris Bryant -- over his 5 2/3 innings of work.

DeSclafani has now given up three runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts and carries a 3.32 ERA over that span.

The combination of Wandy Peralta, Jared Hughes, Robert Stephenson and Iglesias gave Bell exactly what he asked for -- a chance to win. But that small margin for error loomed large, when the Reds were held scoreless after the first inning -- which ended with Nick Senzel being thrown out at the plate on José Peraza's RBI double to erase what proved to be an important run.

But the Reds can be encouraged by a bullpen that, even without high-leverage specialist Amir Garrett, whom the team expects back soon, has combined to go 6 2/3 innings in this series, with the only run coming on Schwarber's long ball.

“We just have to stay aggressive and make the pitches when we need to,” DeSclafani said. “I felt like we’ve done that all year. There are going to be ebbs and flows to the season. We just have to stay on the attack.”