'I wish we won 100 in a row': Reds' historic win streak ends at 12

CINCINNATI -- Throughout this season for the Reds -- including during their magical surge of wins -- they have often defied the odds by winning games without strong starting pitching. So it was no surprise that the lack of a solid starting performance contributed to the end of their winning streak on Saturday.

Back in the rotation from the injured list, Graham Ashcraft gave up three home runs, and the deficit proved just comeback-proof enough for the Braves to hand Cincinnati a 7-6 loss at Great American Ball Park and snap its 12-game winning streak.

"It’s not the result we want. We had a great thing going. I hate that it’s over. But it’s baseball," said Ashcraft, who gave up six earned runs and 10 hits over four-plus innings with no walks and two strikeouts.

Cincinnati's rotation is ranked 28th in MLB with a 5.89 ERA and has seen injuries throughout its starting five, with Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo currently on the injured list. As Ashcraft returned from the injured list, Ben Lively went on the IL with a pectoral muscle strain.

The Reds haven't gotten a five-inning start from anybody other than rookie Andrew Abbott since Greene went six innings vs. the Astros on June 17.

"They’re not out there knowing they need to throw a complete game. They know that’s not what is being asked of them," Reds manager David Bell said pregame. "Just go out and give your best -- no matter how many innings that is. We’ll continue with that approach. We have guys who are able to go deeper than five innings.”

Through his first six starts, Ashcraft had a 2.00 ERA, but he has a 12.82 ERA over his eight starts since. Prior to Saturday, he hadn't pitched since he was struck by a comebacker and suffered a left calf contusion on June 8 against the Dodgers.

Against Ashcraft, Travis d'Arnaud lifted a second-inning homer to right field, and Ozzie Albies added a leadoff drive to right field in the third inning to help build a 3-0 Atlanta lead.

Matt Olson reached down for a low slider for the Braves’ third homer against Ashcraft, who was not discouraged by the start. He noted he felt his best physically since the beginning of the year.

"The two pitches I left up got hit out. Other than that, I felt like I was making some really good pitches," Ashcraft said. "That team across the field is a really good-hitting team … and so are we. We almost came back in that game at the end. That’s really it.”

A team that won coming from behind in its previous five games and a Major League-leading 27 overall, the Reds again remained relentless. Matt McLain's two-out, two-run homer to right-center field in the bottom of the third inning shaved the deficit to one run.

Atlanta had a 6-2 lead when Spencer Steer hit a two-run drive to the left-field seats in the fourth. The gap was 7-4 in the bottom of the ninth against Braves closer Raisel Iglesias when Jake Fraley hit a one-out homer to right field to tie Steer for the team lead with 11 homers.

"It showed a lot of us what we’re creating here and what we’re capable of on a baseball field night in and night out," Fraley said. "It really showed the type of identity we are as a team. It got us on the map a bit in regards to other teams respecting who we are."

Pinch-hitter Will Benson went back to back with his drive to center field to close the gap to one run. But McLain and Jonathan India struck out to end the game and end the franchise's longest winning streak since 1957.

"It’s a resilient group of guys. If you look at the positives of the streak ending, it’s kind of the story of our team," Steer said. "We’ll battle until the last out with those homers in the last inning to make it a one-run game. It was a good streak. I wish we won 100 in a row."

Heading into this weekend, Bell was optimistic the two-plus-week break would give Ashcraft a chance to reboot and revive his season.

Ashcraft may have felt better, but the results were not.

“It took him a bit to settle in," Bell said. "The velocity was there. The pitches were there. The movement was there. It just took him a while to really lock it in, settle and start throwing better strikes. When you’re facing a lineup like that, that little bit [of] getting off to a start where you’re not as sharp can catch up to you. The main thing is Graham is healthy and back in our rotation.”