Kris Bryant had five at-bats Friday at the Chicago Cubs' alternate site in South Bend, Ind., as he attempts to recover from left right finger and left wrist injuries.
Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber, meanwhile, picked up the power slack by hitting solo home runs in the first inning off Reds starter Tyler Mahle.
But that was the extent of the Cubs offense through eight innings. They struck out 11 times in 6 2/3 innings against Mahle and 14 times overall in falling, 6-5, at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati for their third consecutive loss.
After Schwarber's opposite-field home run to left with two outs in the first, the Cubs didn't have another hit off Mahle. Willson Contreras and Jason Heyward closed the gap with home runs in the ninth off Robert Stephenson.
Raisel Iglesias then retired David Bote and Victor Caratini to end the game.
Heyward, who returned to the lineup after opting out Wednesday in Detroit in support of the protests against the Kenosha police shooting of Jacob Blake, was the only Cubs batter to reach base against Mahle after Schwarber's homer. Heyward drew two walks and reached on an error before hitting his homer in the ninth.
Aside from Rizzo and Heyward, every Cubs starter struck out at least once against Mahle. Javier Baez struck out four times, three times against Mahle.
Before the game, manager David Ross said Bryant, who is on the 10-day injured list, and outfielder Steven Souza, also on the IL with a strained right hamstring, each had five at-bats in South Bend.
"Everything seemed to trend in the right direction," said Ross, who added there was no timetable for either player to return.
Meanwhile, the lack of offense finally caught up with Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks, whose woes at Great American Ballpark continued.
Hendricks has allowed three runs or fewer in five of his seven starts this season. But in the other two starts _ both in Cincinnati _ Hendricks has allowed 11 runs on 17 hits in 10 1/3 innings.
Hendricks allowed a tying home run to Jesse Winker in the fourth, and Matt Davidson later hit a go-ahead single.
Hendricks retired the first two batters in the fifth before allowing three consecutive hits, capped by Eugenio Suarez's two-run single.
The Reds generated enough offense without first baseman Joey Votto, who didn't start for the third consecutive game. Votto is hitless in his last 18 at-bats and is batting .191 with three home runs and eight RBIs, with two homers and five RBIs coming in his first four games.
Ross said Alec Mills will start Saturday's second game of the doubleheader but didn't name a starter for Sunday's series finale.
Yu Darvish will oppose Trevor Bauer in a matchup of National League Cy Young Award candidates in the first game of the doubleheader.
