The Reds drop another game on a quiet day for the offense

SAN FRANCISCO — As the old saying goes, your momentum is only as good as your next day's starting pitcher.

One day after the Cincinnati Reds snapped their eight-game losing streak and looked like they were turning the corner, Reds starting pitcher Nick Lodolo allowed a grand slam in the first inning on Saturday against the San Francisco Giants.The momentum that the Reds were starting to build didn't last very long.

Giants third baseman Matt Chapman’s blast over the left field fence in the first inning put the Reds in a big hole in a game that they eventually lost, 5-1.

"At that point of the game, we thought that if we could hold them right there (at four runs), we had a shot to win," Reds manager David Bell said. "Nick threw maybe one too many fastballs in that inning. Other than that, for him to hold them right there, over the course of the season, if he continues to do that, it'll win us games. It didn't today."

In two different at-bats, Lodolo was one pitch away from escaping the first inning unscathed.

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With two outs, Lodolo got a two-strike count against Giants right fielder Heliot Ramos. In that at-bat, Lodolo exclusively threw fastballs. He couldn’t land the last two in the strike zone and walked Ramos to load the bases.

Then against Chapman, Lodolo got ahead in a 1-2 count. Lodolo went back to the fastball, and he left this one right over the heart of the plate.Lodolo’s signature pitch is his breaking ball, but he didn’t throw it in the biggest at-bats of the game.

"I shouldn't have done that," Lodolo said. "I went two at-bats without throwing my best pitch in a situation I had to get out of. Obviously, looking back on it, I wish I wouldn't have done that. I think it goes different. But it's the second start in a row that I've been a pitch away. It's got me."

Lodolo found a rhythm with his breaking ball following the first inning, and he didn't allow a run after the grand slam. In six innings, Lodolo struck out six and got better as the game went on. But the first inning grand slam was too much for the Reds to overcome.

The Reds’ lineup wasn’t shut down by Giants starting pitcher Mason Black, who didn’t make it out of the fifth inning. But whenever the Reds strung together hits, outs on the bases cut rallies short.

Will Benson, Jake Fraley and Jeimer Candelario all got thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. In the Reds’ 4-2 win in the series opener, their aggressive baserunning won them the game. On Saturday, it cost didn't work out in their favor.

"Over the course of the year, we'll make base running mistakes, for sure," Bell said. "Today, I didn't consider those mistakes. When the other team makes plays like that and makes perfect throws, you can't wait around to find out. Today, they got it done."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: First inning grand slam dooms the Reds in a loss to the Giants