CINCINNATI -- Last season, when Adam Wainwright’s now famous “Day After Pitching Old Man Walk” was still in its infancy, the Cardinals’ veteran pitcher joked that he took a jaunt around Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park to try and figure out why these digs had treated him like a human punching bag so often through the years.

On Saturday, when Wainwright again goes on his day after pitching walk to activate his muscles and shake off the soreness, Wainwright might want to consider touring the local music scene or some other sights in downtown Cincinnati. Completely flustered by his years of struggles at Great American Ball Park, Wainwright made one thing very clear late Friday:

“I’m not walking here,” Wainwright huffed.

Wainwright was yet again searching for answers following another beatdown at Great American Ball Park by the Reds -- this time a 5 1/3-innings outing where he surrendered seven earned runs, three pivotal walks and two home runs. Add in damage by Tyler Naquin (four RBIs) and Donovan Solano (three RBIs), and Wainwright and the Cardinals were left with an unsightly 9-5 loss to the Reds, just the opposite of the fast start they were hoping for to open the second half.

Oddly, Wainwright is 10-17 in his career against the Reds -- the only team against which he has a losing record and more than one decision. His ERA against the division rival is 4.46. It’s even higher -- 5.73 -- at Great American Ball Park, where he is 7-8 in his career and hasn’t earned a win since August 2019.

“There’s no excuse for it and there’s no reason for it,” said Wainwright, who is 0-2 in Cincinnati this season. “I’ve pitched great in a lot tougher parks -- Colorado, I’ve pitched great in; Arizona, I’ve pitched great there; Milwaukee, I’ve pitched great in that park. It doesn’t make sense that I don’t pitch well here. I’ve mixed some good games in [against the Reds], but here [in Cincinnati] it’s just been a disaster my whole career.

“I come in here with a great plan, I come in here and I’m focused. I just threw up zeros against the Dodgers. I get the Braves out and I get the Padres out -- all the best teams in baseball -- and I can’t get the dadgum Reds out. Ever.”

It was that kind of frustration-filled night for a Cardinals team that is hoping it can take advantage of the NL’s easiest remaining schedule to bypass the Brewers for the NL Central crown and surge into the playoffs with momentum. That briefly seemed like a possibility when Tyler O’Neill -- who moved up six spots in the batting order -- singled in two runs off hard-throwing Graham Ashcraft in the second inning.

However, that 2-0 lead was short-lived as the Reds touched Wainwright up for four runs in the bottom of the second on a Naquin flare single and a 400-foot smash by former Cardinals prospect Solano. The pitch hit by Solano -- an 84-mph cutter in the heart of the plate -- was inexcusable, Wainwright said. So, too, was the 89-mph sinker down the middle that Joey Votto hit out the other way.

“I don’t make good pitches to [the Reds],” said Wainwright, who allowed all three batters he walked to come around to score. “There are certain guys who just have good numbers off you, and you just say, ‘Yeah, it’s because I throw the ball right down the middle.’ The whole team here I have them locked in on right-down-the-middle pitches.”

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol defended his veteran pitcher on Friday after he and his team had issues with home-plate umpire Ryan Additon throughout the game. Marmol let his feelings be known following a strike-three call to Brendan Donovan in the eighth inning, and he was ejected. During the subsequent argument, TV microphones picked up on Marmol repeatedly asking where the strike zone was.

Said Marmol, following his second career ejection: “I expressed everything that I needed to to Ryan behind the plate. It’s tough to evaluate that start for Waino because of it. I think that game is different with some of the calls made. Is it frustrating and a part of the game? Yes, but at some point, enough is enough.”

Wainwright felt he pitched some of his best baseball of the season before the break when he pitched a complete game against the Phillies on July 8 and 5 1/3 scoreless innings against a potent Dodgers lineup on July 13. But more frustration came on Friday in Cincinnati.

“I know a lot of fans are disappointed and they probably don’t even want me to pitch here anymore,” Wainwright said. “I just don’t know. I’ll be glad to pitch somewhere else, I’ll tell you that.”