CINCINNATI -- Bailey Falter's line was not pretty in the Phillies' 6-2 loss to the Reds on Thursday night at Great American Ball Park: 4 2/3 innings, eight hits, five runs, one walk and four strikeouts.

But manager Rob Thomson was not overly concerned with the results.

"A lot of soft hits," Thomson said. "Two balls were hit hard. I thought he pitched well. He kept them off balance. If you're getting soft contact and they're seeing the holes and blooping balls in, you've done your job at far as I'm concerned."

The 25-year-old left-hander allowed four of the five runs he was charged with when he had two outs in the inning.

"1-2, 0-2 [in the count], I can get there," Falter said. "I've got to find that out pitch."

Falter had limited left-handed hitters to a .146 batting average since July 8 of last year. The Reds countered by running out an all-right-handed lineup.

"I fully thought they would," he said. "The last time I faced them, one lefty was in the lineup. I saw the lineup today, and it was all righties. It is what it is."

The strategy paid off immediately. Staked to a 1-0 lead before he took the mound, Falter gave up a leadoff double to Jonathan India. Falter then walked Spencer Steer for his first free pass of the year. India stole third and scored when third baseman Edmundo Sosa allowed J.T. Realmuto's throw to go into left.

Falter struck out the side in the second, but the third was especially painful. Falter allowed four straight two-out hits, three of which scored runs, to put the Phillies in a 4-1 hole.

"Guys were seeing it well," Falter said. "I missed a couple of spots. I also hit a couple of spots. I felt like that got away from me a bit. I had a hard time stopping the bleeding. That's baseball."

Kyle Schwarber got back a run in the fifth with a 438-foot shot to right-center. It was Schwarber's 23rd home run against the Reds -- the most he has against any opponent. Schwarber grew up about 30 miles north of Cincinnati in Middletown, Ohio.

But two-out trouble kept Falter from getting out of the fifth. He threw 94 pitches, 64 for strikes.

Still, it was a manageable 5-2 game after five innings. But the Phillies only managed one hit against the Reds' bullpen -- a bullpen that came in 2-6 with a 5.26 ERA. Philadelphia didn't help its cause when it had chances, going 1-for-9 on the night with runners in scoring position.

"It ebbs and flows," Thomson said. "We're in a little bit of down swell right now, but it will change."

Thomson doesn't see his team pressing.

"I think they're playing hard," he said. "We had great energy in the ninth inning. ... We're one batter away from getting Schwarber to the plate as the tying run."

But Trea Turner struck out to end it, extinguishing Philly's final rally of the night.