Phillies shut out for the fourth time in seven games as Reds get to Seranthony Domínguez in the ninth

CINCINNATI — Kyle Schwarber remained absent from the Phillies’ lineup Wednesday. But they still asked their home-run leader for one swing in the ninth inning of a scoreless stalemate.

Alas, the mighty Schwarbs fouled out.

And, once again, the Phillies got shut out. They mustered five hits, none after the fifth inning, and indomitable reliever Seranthony Domínguez gave up back-to-back two-out singles in a sweep-spoiling 1-0 walk-off loss to the stripped-down Reds.

Make it four shutouts in seven games since Schwarber went down with a strained right calf last Thursday. The Phillies scored 11 runs Tuesday night, but that was an outlier. They finished 3-3 on a six-game road trip to New York and Cincinnati, with all three losses coming via shutout.

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That’s just what the offense, even one of the best in the National League, looks like without Schwarber and Bryce Harper.

“I think it’s just we ran into a pretty good group of pitchers,” said Schwarber, who likely will return Friday night as the designated hitter for another showdown series with the division-leading New York Mets. “We’ve been in striking distance in every single game, and we’ve had traffic on the bases. You look to try to get that big hit. Unfortunately today that didn’t happen.”

Harper, missing since June 26 with a broken left thumb, remains two weeks away from returning. He took batting practice again at Citizens Bank Park and likely will begin a minor league assignment next week at triple-A Lehigh Valley.

But Schwarber’s return is imminent, and it couldn’t come at a better time. The Phillies are 4-11 against the Mets, including two losses in three games last weekend in New York. They’ve lost each of the previous five series against the NL East leaders and won’t face them again unless they meet in the playoffs.

One potential break for the Phillies: They aren’t scheduled to face Max Scherzer or Jacob deGrom in the four-game series. But they still must contend with tough right-hander Chris Bassitt in the opener. Bassitt shut out the Phillies last Sunday.

Will it be different this time around with Schwarber back?

It should at least provide a boost.

“Yeah, absolutely,” interim manager Rob Thomson said. “You put that bat back in the lineup and feel pretty good about it.”

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Said Schwarber: “We want to win series. That’s our big thing. If we continue to win series, good things will happen and we’ll be where we want to be.”

The Phillies won the series against the Reds despite the finale, in which Ranger Suárez dueled for seven innings with Reds rookie left-hander Nick Lodolo and Domínguez proved he’s actually human.

Domínguez, who entered with a 1.45 ERA in 45 appearances after missing all but one game of the last two seasons while recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery, gave up his first run since July 10.

It all started with a four-pitch walk to Albert Almora Jr. Domínguez allowed successive singles to Alejo López and Jose Barrero, the latter scoring Almora from second base.

Despite the loss, the Phillies hold possession of the second wild card in the National League, a half-game ahead of the San Diego Padres, who won in Miami.

Suárez made it 3-for-3 in quality starts for the back of the rotation against the Reds.

After Noah Syndergaard yielded three runs in seven innings in the opener Monday night, and Kyle Gibson gave up three runs in six innings Tuesday night, Suárez dazzled in the series finale.

The Reds put runners on base in the second and third innings and got a leadoff double from López in the fifth. Otherwise, they did little against Suárez, who mixed four pitches in addition to his signature sinker.

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Suárez has a 1.02 ERA in six starts since returning from two weeks on the injured list with back spasms.

“I feel really good,” Suárez said through a team translator. “I feel like I have pretty good command of all my pitches right now, and that has been really, really good for me and has been the recipe for me to be successful.”

Suárez was at his best in the fifth inning. After López’s double, he recorded three outs on four pitches, including first-pitch pop-outs by Barrera and Austin Romine.

Lodolo matched Suárez almost pitch for pitch, cooling the Phillies’ bats after Tuesday night’s scoring binge.

The Phillies appeared to have Lodolo on the ropes a few times in the early innings. But they failed to cash in two-out opportunities in the first and second and wasted a two-on, one-out chance in the fourth when Matt Vierling flied out and Nick Maton grounded out.

After that, Lodolo allowed only one more baserunner and completed seven innings for the first time in his 10-start major league career.

“They just couldn’t pick up his slider, it seemed like,” Thomson said. “And then he threw that high heater above the barrel. We won the series, but it would’ve been nice to win the road trip.”