CINCINNATI -- Andrew Abbott was in a groove with a shutout working into the eighth inning. The defense behind Abbott made some fantastic plays to get him to that point.
But for the Reds to be a playoff team -- and beat expected playoff-bound teams like the Phillies -- there's very little margin for error for the whole game.
Cincinnati, which was handed a 4-1 loss on Monday at Great American Ball Park, had a 1-0 lead with two outs in the eighth inning when Philadelphia pounced for all four of its runs.
“That’s a tough team to beat, 1-0. They’ve got a lot of guys that can hit the ball out of the ballpark and change a game really fast," said left fielder Gavin Lux, who drove in the Reds' lone run with a two-out single that scored TJ Friedl in the first inning.
The loss moved the Reds (62-58) another half-game behind the idling Mets, who now hold a two-game lead over them for the final National League Wild Card berth.
Abbott, who is 8-3 with a 2.41 ERA in 21 starts this season, was charged with three earned runs and six hits over 7 2/3 innings with no walks and six strikeouts. The left-hander retired the first 12 batters he faced, which included a nifty diving stop by third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes that robbed J.T. Realmuto of an extra-base hit to open the second inning.
In the seventh, Bryce Harper tried to score from third base on a Nick Castellanos fly ball to right field. Noelvi Marte foiled Harper with a perfect one-hop throw to the plate that preserved the Cincinnati lead. Abbott needed only six pitches in the inning, bringing his count to 83 through seven.
“At the time, it feels like a game saver. That was exciting," manager Terry Francona said.
There was no question that Abbott was Francona's choice for the eighth inning.
"It didn’t look like he was out of gas," Francona said.
“They asked me how I felt. I felt great," Abbott said. "I felt like our game plan was really spot-on today. It just boils down to making pitches. I didn’t make a couple, and I paid for it.”
Abbott struck out his first two batters, including Otto Kemp with a 95-mph fastball for the second out. Then, trouble came. Edmundo Sosa hit an opposite-field single to right field and Weston Wilson hit a double to left field. The ball rolled around the corner and got away from Lux, allowing Sosa to score easily.
“I just tried to get to it as fast as possible and get it in," Lux said. "Obviously, with two outs and Sosa running -- he’s a really good runner -- you just try to get it in as fast as possible. He was going to score either way, but I tried to get to it as fast as possible. It kind of rattled around in the corner.”
Trea Turner followed with a single to left field. Lux airmailed an errant throw over the head of catcher Tyler Stephenson at the plate, where Abbott didn't back up, as Wilson scored the go-ahead run.
“I thought I threw the ball pretty well," Abbott said. "I missed my spots on probably three pitches. That’s a good hitting team over there. They’re going to hit those. It’s all about perspective. The ball is coming out of my hand great. I’m feeling good. The routine and everything has set in for sure this time. I can live with that. It was still a good start overall. It’s not the outcome we wanted, but it was still good from my perspective.”
Set-up man Tony Santillan was called from the bullpen to replace Abbott. Santillan's first batter, Kyle Schwarber, put the game away with his NL-leading 42nd home run of the season, a two-run drive to right field inside the foul pole.
“Abbott did a great job. He shoved for eight innings," Lux said. "He’s a competitor. It’s great to see, but we’ve got to keep the foot on the gas there after we get an early lead.”
The Reds, who have one of MLB's toughest remaining schedules, have a wicked tough homestand with two more games vs. the Phillies, followed by three more vs. the Brewers. Both are first-place clubs in their respective divisions.
“We know our schedule is hard. We’re not making any excuses," Abbott said. "We’ve just got to play better at the end of the day. There’s some certain facets -- like me backing up [the plate], me making pitches. Defense made some plays behind me. We just had a few things go our way, but we needed a few more."