INSTANT REACTION: Reds’ Costly Errors, Lack of Clutch Hits in 7-5 Loss to Cards

CINCINNATI -- The swoon continues, and it may be what ultimately puts the Reds out of reach for the third National League Wild Card.

Sloppy defense and the lack of clutch hits did the Reds in again in a 7-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals Friday night.

Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz came up with runners on first and second and two outs in the bottom of the 10th, but he struck out with a full count to end the game.

With the loss, the Reds fall 68-67 and have now dropped seven of their last eight games. Worse, the New York Mets were leading 13-5 at the time this story was published. Their game against the Miami Marlins was in the top of the eighth inning, so it's likely the Reds will be five games out of a playoff spot come Saturday morning. There are 27 games remaining in the regular season.

The Reds have also lost four in a row, and they did not lead after the first inning Friday night.

Cincinnati is now 3-5 against St. Louis this season and just 2-3 at home.

Zack Littell Pitches Deep Into The Game To Save Bullpen Some Innings

If there was a bright spot Friday night, it was the Reds right-handed starter on the mound.

Littell has had an up-and-down first month since coming over to the Reds in a trade at the end of July.

Friday night was one of his better starts in terms of duration, pitching seven innings and throwing 68 of his 97 pitches for strikes.

Unfortunately, Litell did give up four runs (three of them earned) on six hits. He didn't allow a walk and struck out four, but the Cardinals hit him hard and took advantage of a sloppy Reds defense to dent the scoreboard.

Notes And Observations

• Friday night was the Reds fourth game in August with three or more errors.
• The Reds are now 3-10 in extra-inning games this season.
• Cincinnati went 2-13 with runners in scoring position and left 14 runners on base.
• St. Louis went 5-15 with runners in scoring position and left just six runners on base.
• Cardinals left-handed starter Matthew Liberatore pitched five innings and allowed three earned runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four. He threw 64 of his 88 pitches for strikes.
• Noelvi Marte, Elly De La Cruz, and Miguel Andujar each had multiple hits Friday night.
• The Reds out-hit the Cardinals 12-9, but St. Louis did not make an error in the field.

Scoring Summary

Top 1st
STL: Iván Herrera solo HR (11) (Cardinals lead 1-0)

Bottom 1st
CIN: Noelvi Marte solo HR (12) (Tied 1-1)
CIN: Austin Hays RBI sacrafice fly (Reds lead 2-1)

Top 2nd
STL: Pedro Pagés two-run HR (10) (Cardinals lead 3-2)

Top 3rd
STL: Masyn Winn RBI single (Cardinals lead 4-2)

Bottom 6th
CIN: Spencer Steer solo HR (17) (Cardinals lead 4-3)

Bottom 7th
CIN: Miguel Andujar RBI single (Tied 4-4)

Top 8th
STL: Masyn Winn RBI double (Cardinals lead 5-4)

Bottom 8th
CIN: KeBryan Hayes solo HR (5) (Tied 5-5)

Top 10th
STL: Wilson Contreras reached on a fielding error (Cardinals lead 6-5)
STL: Masyn Winn RBI single (Cardinals lead 7-5)

On Deck

The series between the Reds and Cardinals continues Saturday night at Great American Ball Park.

Reds left-handed ace and All-Star Andrew Abbott (8-4, 2.62 ERA) will look to bounce back after getting knocked around against Arizona last Saturday night. Abbott will be opposed by Cardinals right-hander Michael McGreevy (5-2, 4.43 ERA).

First pitch is at 6:40 E.T. on FanDuel Sports Network Cincinnati and 700WLW.