CINCINNATI -- The Reds certainly weren’t happy about losing right fielder Nick Castellanos for two games on Tuesday and Wednesday while he serves a suspension. But manager David Bell felt better knowing he has a pretty hot bat in Tyler Naquin to replace Castellanos in the lineup and in right field.

“Yes, that’s what a team is all about,” Bell said. “You have little things that come up during the course of the year, whether it be an injury or something like this, which fortunately doesn’t happen a lot. You’re always picking each other up. We’re getting contributions from a lot of guys.”

Naquin entered Tuesday tied for second in the Majors with six home runs. He was batting .262 with a 1.068 OPS and 15 RBIs in 12 games. During the season’s first week, he filled in for left fielder Jesse Winker while he was dealing with an illness and leg cramps and hit homers in three straight games from April 6-9.

According to Statcast, Naquin ranks in the 100th percentile in hard-hit percentage, the 98th percentile in average exit velocity and barrel percentage and the 99th in expected slugging. He doesn’t have enough plate appearances to qualify on the leaderboard.

Castellanos had his two-game suspension appeal denied on Monday. He was disciplined by Major League Baseball for actions that sparked a bench-clearing incident against the Cardinals on April 3.

The Reds signed Naquin to a Minor League contract Feb. 18, and he earned a roster spot in Spring Training. He will likely start in right field again on Wednesday.

“Tyler has been a huge addition for our team here in the first couple of weeks,” Bell said. “We’re in much better shape than we would have been without Tyler here. But again, you just hate to lose any of your players. These games are so important. Nick, obviously, is a big player on this team.”

Moustakas to injured list
Less than an hour before Tuesday’s game against Arizona, the Reds scratched Mike Moustakas from their lineup and placed the third baseman on the 10-day injured list. The move, which is retroactive to Saturday, came as Moustakas has been dealing with a non-COVID-related illness since Friday.

Alex Blandino was activated from the injured list to replace Moustakas on the active roster. Kyle Farmer started at third base in Tuesday’s updated lineup.

Mahle tipping?
During his previous start on Wednesday at San Francisco, Reds pitcher Tyler Mahle had four no-hit innings before the Giants got him for two runs and three hits in the fifth inning during a 3-0 loss.

“They hit two balls hard that inning,” Mahle said on Tuesday. “Two popups and a passed ball. I walked a guy. I wasn’t as sharp that inning. We also thought I was tipping from where my glove was on my body and how my hand was coming up out of the stretch. I was doing it two separate ways on off-speed and fastballs. We thought that could have been the case, too, because the first four innings, I was in the windup the whole time, so I didn’t really have to work out of the stretch.”

Mahle didn’t believe he had a track record of tipping his pitches often.

“It happened one time against the Cardinals a couple years ago,” Mahle said. “They could see the ball in my glove from second base when there was a runner on second base. It was totally different, but it’s an easy fix. What I’m going to do is going to fix that right away. Not too worried about it.”

Worth noting
Relief pitcher Cam Bedrosian, who was designated for assignment on Saturday, cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Reds’ alternate training site in Louisville, Ky.