By Kevin Kelly
Enquirer staff writer

When at their highest on June 6, statistics alone could not decode the Reds.

They were 12 games over .500 and held a two-game lead in the National League Central.

Reality since has caught up to the Reds.

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Wednesday's game

A 6-0 loss against the Cardinals on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park was Cincinnati's seventh consecutive and dropped the team's record under .500 for the first time since April 5.

The Reds are 14 1/2 games behind the Cardinals and losing wild-card hope.

"We're finding ourselves stepping down the ladder instead of going up where we need to go," starter Cory Lidle said. "We need to figure out something really quick. We need to get some of our key players back and start having fun again."

Tuesday lacked any inkling of enjoyment for the Reds.

Cardinals starting pitcher Jason Marquis, along with relievers Kiko Calero and Danny Haren, combined on the three-hit shutout before 25,366 fans.

And Lidle endured another rough outing.

The right-hander allowed five earned runs on eight hits over five innings and is 0-4 with a 7.76 ERA in his past five starts.

"I can't put a finger on exactly what went wrong right now," Lidle said. "It's easy to see that I fell behind and came to them later in counts, and they made me pay."

Cincinnati's starting pitchers have produced 44 quality starts this season, but only one since July 19.

The pitching staff as a whole is 16-29 with a 6.01 ERA since the Reds were 12 games above .500.

Tuesday's loss left Cincinnati one game out of last place in the NL Central.

"When things aren't going well, it sticks out a lot more," Reds manager Dave Miley said. "Rotation-wise, these guys are capable of getting deep into the ballgame. We just need to get it done. I have confidence that they can get it done."

With Tuesday's win, first-place St. Louis improves to 10-2 against the Reds this season with today's series finale and seven more games between the teams next month.

The Cardinals took a 5-0 lead as Lidle labored through the first three innings Tuesday.

The right-hander used 74 pitches and allowed five runs on six hits during the span.

St. Louis scored one run in the first inning, and two each in the second and third.

With one out in the second, right fielder Reggie Sanders hit a solo home run to left field. Catcher Yadier Molina followed with a double before Lidle got the second out of the inning.

The Cardinals loaded the bases with two walks before first baseman Albert Pujols hit a groundball to the right side of the infield.

Reds second baseman D'Angelo Jimenez, who had not committed an error in a career-best 49 consecutive games, bobbled the grounder, allowing Molina to score.

St. Louis added two more runs, making the score 5-0, on a two out double by Marquis.

After working a perfect fourth inning, Lidle allowed a leadoff home run by center fielder Jim Edmonds in the fifth to make it 6-0.

Marquis, meanwhile, was virtually unhittable during his seven innings.

"That guy really knows how to pitch," Miley said. "With a lead like that, he didn't let up. He just kept bearing down on us and pitched a good ballgame."

The right-hander retired the first nine Reds batters he faced before walking Ryan Freel to lead off the fourth inning.

Reds first baseman Sean Casey got the first hit off Marquis later in the inning.

Marquis then walked the next two batters after Casey's hit but shattered Wily Mo Pena's bat as the center fielder lined out to shortstop to end the inning.

The Reds had only one baserunner advance past second in the five innings that followed.

"They know they're in a tough streak," Miley said of his players. "You've got to keep looking to get this thing turned around hopefully sooner rather than later."

St. Louis	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Womack 2b	4	1	2	0	1	0	.294
Renteria ss	3	0	1	0	1	0	.288
Pujols 1b	5	0	1	1	0	0	.323
Rolen 3b	4	0	1	0	1	1	.327
Edmonds cf	4	2	2	1	0	1	.288
Calero p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Luna ph-lf	1	0	0	0	0	0	.247
Cedeno lf	4	0	1	0	1	1	.295
Haren p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
RSanders rf	5	1	1	1	0	2	.251
YMolina c	5	2	3	0	0	1	.276
Marquis p	3	0	1	2	0	1	.289
Taguchi ph-cf	1	0	0	0	0	0	.252
Totals	39	6	13	5	4	7

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Freel 3b-cf	3	0	0	0	1	1	.269
JCastro ss-3b	4	0	0	0	0	0	.251
Casey 1b	4	0	1	0	0	1	.342
Dunn lf	3	0	1	0	1	2	.265
DJimenez 2b	3	0	0	0	1	2	.261
WPena cf-rf	3	0	0	0	0	0	.284
Vander Wal rf	3	0	0	0	0	1	.167
PNorton p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Valentin c	3	0	1	0	0	1	.194
Lidle p	1	0	0	0	0	1	.139
Hummel ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.240
RWagner p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
FLopez ss	1	0	0	0	0	1	.143
Totals	29	0	3	0	3	10

St. Louis	122	010	000	-6	13	0
Cincinnati	000	000	000	-0	3	2

E-Freel (10), DJimenez (5). LOB-St. Louis 11, Cincinnati 5. 2B-YMolina (3), Marquis (5), Valentin (6). HR-Edmonds (26), off Lidle; RSanders (17), off Lidle. RBIs-Pujols (74), Edmonds (67), RSanders (50), Marquis 2 (7). SB-Womack (16). S-Renteria. GIDP-Renteria, JCastro. DP-St. Louis 1, Cincinnati 1.

St. Louis	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Marquis W, 11-4	7	3	0	0	3	6	99	3.55
Calero	1	0	0	0	0	2	9	2.67
Haren	1	0	0	0	0	2	10	19.29

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Lidle L, 6-9	5	8	6	5	3	3	96	5.32
RWagner	2	3	0	0	0	2	36	6.48
PNorton	2	2	0	0	1	2	30	4.79

WP-Lidle 2.

Umpires-Home, Tim Timmons; First, Bruce Froemming; Second, Hunter Wendelstedt; Third, Mike Winters.

T-2:40. A-25,366 (42,271).