The Cincinnati Reds lost their 10th straight game against National League Central Division foes this season in an 8-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals before 19,927 fans at Great American Ball Park in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
The Reds won their first divisional game of the year against Pittsburgh on March 30, but have lost 10 in a row against the Pirates, Cardinals and Cubs since. Cincinnati is now 0-4 against a St. Louis team that was supposed to have been in a rebuilding season. After years of being unable to beat their divisional foes consistently, the Reds leveled off at 26-26 in 2025. It was a huge improvement and was a primary factor in the team earning a Wild Card playoff berth. But the first 51 games of this season have seen a regression.
NOTE: A new Redleg Nation game thread will be posted prior to tonight’s second game of the day-night doubleheader.
As this post goes live, the Reds-Cardinals game is the only final so far in the big leagues today. With the loss, the Reds now find themselves 5 1/2 behind first-place Milwaukee, tied for fourth and last in the NL Central.
The Offense
Not much to report here, unfortunately. Nathaniel Lowe’s solo homer in the second, his seventh of the year, gave his team a short-lived 1-0 lead. Cincinnati’s only other hit was a Blake Dunn single two outs later.
In the third through sixth innings, Cardinals starter Andre Pallante retired the final 13 hitters he faced. Before today, Pallante had a career record of 6-4 with a 2.49 ERA against the Reds in 19 appearances dating back to 2022. As with many other National League Central Division pitchers, his statistics vs. Cincinnati are considerably better than his overall career numbers: 28-33, 4.30 ERA.
The Pitching
The long story made short: The Reds are now 0-14 in their last 14 games not started by Chase Burns or Andrew Abbott.
Starter Chris Paddack demonstrated how a pitcher settles into a role as an average, perhaps-borderline major league pitcher. The first six St. Louis batters of the game saw first-pitch strikes, which helped Paddack strike out four of the first nine Cardinals hitters. But in the top of the third, he walked JJ Wetherholt and Ivan Herrera back-to-back, and both later came around to score on a single and a fielder’s choice grounder.
If he could pitch consistently as he did the first time through the batting order, Paddack would be a clear asset and pitching leader. But out of nowhere, he lost his command of the strike zone, and it was costly, as thousands of other pitchers have learned over time. That’s what separates average pitchers from the very good and great ones.
After a scoreless sixth thrown by Sam Moll, Connor Phillips entered and did the one thing he probably least wanted to do: walked leadoff batter Herrera on four pitches — a reminder of Phillips’ 8.8 walks issued per nine innings this season (highest in the majors). An out later, Jordan Walker lined a shot into the right-centerfield stands to make it 5-1 Cardinals. Dunn saved Phillips from surrendering more with a terrific running catch near the right-field wall on a Bryan Torres shot that looked destined to be a run-scoring extra-base hit.
Since April 26, Cincinnati’s 7.83 bullpen ERA is the worst in the majors. It’s time for some changes, but I unfortunately don’t have any recommendations to make.
Jose Franco pitched the final two mop-up innings. He allowed an eighth-inning run on a Herrera triple to right-center which Dane Myers sprinted to catch up to. While running parallel with the wall with a foot or two of separation, the ball bounced off Myers’ glove and rolled toward the right-field line. It was called a triple, but it was a ball that should have been caught. (Not by me or you, but by a player who seems to have above-average fielding skills and speed, yes.) Franco surrendered a two-run shot to Torres, making his major-league debut, in the ninth.
Presuming that relievers who pitched in game 1 won’t be available for the nightcap, that leaves Manager Terry Francona with Tejay Antone, Graham Ashcraft, Brock Burke, Pierce Johnson and Tony Santillan for the 7:15 p.m. second game.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds
Saturday, May 23, 7:15 p.m. ET
Kyle Leahy (5-3, 3.94 ERA) vs. Chase Petty (0-0, 4.76 ERA)
