CINCINNATI _ What made Tuesday different at Great American Ball Park wasn't just that Scooter Gennett went berserk with four home runs and 10 RBIs and the kind of game not seen around these parts since Mark Whiten was hard-hitting.
No, what made it different was the Cardinals falling behind.
In four previous games, the Cardinals had taken an early lead of at least two runs and then let it fritter away. Errors here. Baserunning lapses there. Bullpen ruptures sprinkled in. Each day it was different, but each day had a similar feel: Take a lead, lose a lead, lose the game. They Cardinals were back at it Wednesday night.
A 3-0 lead was obliterated by the Reds' five-run inning in the bottom of the seventh.
Cincinnati held on from there for a 6-4 victory at Great American Ball Park.
The Cardinals have lost six consecutive games on this road trip. For the 14th time this season, they took a lead of at least two runs and lost the game. That is one more than they had all of last season, a season when they did not reach the playoffs.
The Reds hit two home runs off the Cardinals' bullpen to take a 6-4 lead going into the eighth inning. Pinch-hitter Patrick Kivlehan ripped a three-run homer of lefty Brett Cecil to tie the game, 4-4. Zach Cozart followed with a double against Cecil, and that chased the lefty from the game. In came Trevor Rosenthal, and on his first pitch Joey Votto homered.
Votto's two-run shot broke the tie.
What will echo about the ending here for the Cardinals is how Lance Lynn was pulled curiously early from the game. The move could have been to spur the offense, because with two runners on manager Mike Matheny went directly to pinch-hitter Dexter Fowler. Fowler delivered with a double to center, but what could have been two runs was only one when another Cardinals runner was thrown out at the plate.
Fowler's RBI put the Cardinals ahead, 4-1.
It also meant that Lynn's day was done. Lynn threw less than 80 pitches, got through five innings, and didn't allow a hit until the fourth. Even that hit was an infield single by Votto that glanced off Lynn's glove. In an effort to keep his no-no intact, Lynn tackled the ball near the mound and attempted to throw from a seated position to first base. Votto was safe.
