Abbott labors with changeup as Reds fall back to .500

CINCINNATI -- As an All-Star and the Reds' best starting pitcher all season, Andrew Abbott felt added responsibility to do his part to help end his team's downward spiral.

When that didn't happen during Saturday's 4-2 defeat to the Cardinals at Great American Ball Park -- the Reds' fifth in a row while they have dropped eight of their past nine -- Abbott wore it.

“Overall, that was a terrible outing," said Abbott, who pitched five innings while allowing two runs on three hits. The lefty walked four batters and hit another with a pitch while striking out seven. "No execution whatsoever. I was fighting tempo all day."

Also missed was a chance to gain ground on the Mets, who lost their game to the Marlins. That meant Cincinnati (68-68) remained five games back for the final National League Wild Card spot.

"You’ve got to be better than that down the stretch, especially when we have a lot on the line," Abbott said. "You’re trying to catch a team in front of us that lost tonight. There’s a lot riding on that.”

The last time the Reds were at an even .500 record was July 8, when they were 46-46. As recently as Aug. 19, they were a season-high seven games above .500.

Back on Aug. 21, just as their slide was commencing, the Reds were only a half-game behind the Mets.

For the entire clubhouse, it's been beyond frustrating.

“We just need a win, it’s plain and simple. Do whatever we have to do to win," catcher Jose Trevino said. “You feel so close. You also know time, the schedule’s coming [to an end]. We’ve got to win some games.”

In his five August starts, Abbott went 0-4 with a 4.45 ERA. It has him at 8-5 with a 2.65 ERA over 24 starts and 139 innings this season. On Saturday, he was working without an effective changeup, and that partially had him grinding through the start.

Trouble found Abbott early when two hits and a walk loaded the bases with one out in the first inning. A popup by Jordan Walker led to confusion on the infield-fly rule when the ball dropped between Abbott and two infielders. The Cardinals somehow ran themselves into an inning-ending double play without scoring.

It was one of the few breaks the Reds caught.

"I don’t know what happened," Abbott said. "I don’t know the rule behind that or anything like that. Guys were just taking off running base to base."

Following a pair of walks in the fourth inning, including to Thomas Saggese with two outs, Abbott had a 1-2 count on Pedro Pagés before hitting him in the back leg with a sweeper. The consequences were immediate. Next batter Nathan Church hit a two-run single into center field for a 2-1 Cardinals lead.

“He almost got out of it," manager Terry Francona said. "There were some walks, a lot of deep counts. When you look up, it was 87 [pitches] after four. That’s not real Abbott-esque.”

Relievers Connor Phillips and Zach Maxwell each surrendered two-out solo homers, and the Reds got one from Matt McLain in the seventh. But the lineup didn't do its part overall while going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, bringing the total to 4-for-37 over the past five games.

On Wednesday, a nine-inning game club record was set by striking out 19 times vs. the Dodgers. Against the Cardinals, no Reds struck out in the game for the first time since June 23, 1997, at Montreal. St. Louis starter Michael McGreevy induced 12 groundouts during his six innings.

“He got us to get the ball on the ground. It’s tough sledding right now. We’ve got to fight through it," Francona said.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Spencer Steer opened with a single on the ground into left field against reliever Kyle Leahy. Next, Ke'Bryan Hayes put the tying run on first base with a lined single to right field. After that, Cincinnati couldn't get a ball out of the infield to end the game.

“We’re in close games and we haven’t been playing our best baseball," Trevino said. "That could switch tomorrow. We have the ability to switch tomorrow. That’s the part we’re all looking forward to. I feel like we’re really close.”

The issue is, the schedule gets no easier. After the Cardinals leave town, the American League East-leading Blue Jays come in, followed by the Mets.

"I still think we’re one pitch, one hit, one defensive play from really taking off," Abbott said. "We haven’t had those breaks yet. We can’t sit here and dwell on playing bad these last 10 days. We have to just turn the page and focus on tomorrow.”