INSTANT REACTION: Reds Bats Silenced, Bullpen Implodes in 6-1 Loss to Cardinals

CINCINNATI -- The Reds lineup couldn't solve Cardinals right-handed starter Andrew Pallante, and a disastrous seventh inning ended the Reds' chances of beating their division rival in Friday night's 6-1 loss.

St. Louis scored five runs in a seventh inning that featured Reds relievers struggling to throw strikes and the defense not helping behind them in the field.

Cincinnati is now 39-37 on the season. They're 6.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central and two games behind the San Diego Padres in the National League Wild Card race.

Brady Singer did his best to keep the Reds within 1-0 and give the lineup several chances to get on the scoreboard, but Cardinals pitching kept the Reds bats silent before their five run-seventh put the game out of the reach.

Here are our key takeaways from Friday night's 6-1 loss to the Cardinals:

Seventh Inning Setback for Reds Bullpen

A setback is generous The combination of right-hander Scott Barlow and left-hander Taylor Rogers combined to pitch just 2/3 of an inning and allowing five runs on three walks and a hit by pitch.

Right-hander Tony Santillan came on with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, and he induced Cardinals designated hitter Thomas Saggese to ground to third baseman Gavin Lux.

Lux's throw was low to first baseman Spencer Steer, and the error allowed two Cardinals to come around and score to make it 5-0.

Cardinals left fielder Lars Nootbaar followed with an RBI single to make it 6-0.

Five runs, three of them unearned, and on just two hits against three walks. Barlow and Taylor combined to throw just 50 percent of their 34 pitches for strikes in the seventh inning Friday night. That's not going to get it done, especially with the bullpen already thin with Graham Ashcraft on the injured list.

Andrew Pallante Stymies Reds' Lineup

We've seen an innumberable amount of opposing starting pitchers keep the Reds lineup at bay and off the scoreboard this season. Cardinals right-hander Andrew Pallante was the latest pitcher to silence the Reds; bats.

Pallante went 6+ shutout innings while allowing just two hits and one walk and striking out four. The most amazing part of Pallante's start is the fact that only two Reds batters hit the ball out of the infield.

Pallante got the Reds to ground out 10 times on Friday night. It was like watching former Atlanta Braves pitcher Greg Maddux silence the Cleveland Indians in Game 1 of the 1995 World Series he was that good Friday night against the Reds.

Brady Singer's Strong Start

The Reds right-hander entered Friday night with seven wins on the season. He showed why he has that many wins, pitching six strong innings with just one earned run allowed- on a third inning sacrafice fly- on four hits, one walk and seven strikeouts.

Singer threw 102 pitches Friday night, and he earned his sixth quality start of the season.

Cincinnati trading for Singer in exchange for Jonathan India has proven to be a good move through nearly three months of the season. Singer has delivered a solid first half for the Reds, and that has been a key part of this team getting over .500 as the season heads into late June.

More importantly Friday night, Singer kept the Reds close and gave them a chance to rally and tie the game.

Connor Phillips Makes 2025 Debut

Phillips pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

The right-hander worked around two runners on base to strike out two.

It will be interesting to see if Phillips gets more action this series and in the next week or so with the bevy of roster transactions the Reds have made from a pitching perspective.

Notes and observations

• The Reds have not won the season series in St. Louis since 2006. That means that every season in games against the Cardinals in St. Louis. The Reds have, at best, split those games. It's been 19 years since 2006. In other words, it's been a long time since the Reds have had that kind of success against the Cardinals.
• The Cardinals were somehow just 2-14 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.
• On the other hand, the Reds were just 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left four runners on base.

On Deck

The Reds play the Cardinals in St. Louis continues Saturday afternoon at 2:15 E.T. on FanDuel Sports Network Cincinnati and 700WLW.

With left-hander Wade Miley placed on the 15-day injured list with a left flexor strain, the Reds have not named a starting pitcher for Saturday's game. The Cardinals are going with right-hander and former Red Sonny Gray (7-2, 3.84 ERA).