Reds Struggle as Bullpen Falters

The Reds’ tough stretch hit rock bottom with a brutal sweep by the Cardinals, fueled by a collapsing bullpen and costly errors. Sam Moll took the loss again after a bad throw on a bunt let the go-ahead run score, while Rhett Lowder’s return was shaky—five walks and a hit-by-pitch—but he kept the Cardinals scoreless. Caleb Ferguson pitched a clean inning, but Chris Paddack’s debut outing ended in disaster, giving up three runs. Manager Terry Francona admitted the team’s aggressive bunt strategy backfired and acknowledged the chaos of managing a pitching staff with injuries and rotations. Still, Matt McLain lit up the box score with two homers, his second multi-homer game of the season, though he kept it humble. The sweep dropped the Reds below .500 and into last place in the NL Central. Francona rallied his team, urging passion, belief, and leaving everything on the field as they head into their next series. Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/27b3de6f8c71f1bf