CINCINNATI -- The Braves had no control over the injuries that forced so many of their stars to miss significant time this year. But they have only themselves to blame for the many opportunities they have squandered while losing each of the past three games.

“It’s not necessarily us losing the game completely, but other teams doing their job as well,” Braves center fielder Michael Harris II said.

It’s hard to say what might have been the most disappointing development in a 6-5 loss to the Reds on Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park. This third straight defeat puts the Braves two games behind the Mets and D-backs in the battle for the third and final National League Wild Card spot.

This is the first time Atlanta has been more than one game back in the battle for a postseason spot this year.

“You can't think about [the standings],” Braves reliever Pierce Johnson said. “You’ve just gotta come in and do your work every day. [What the Mets do] is something we can't control. So you just gotta control what you can control.”

It seemed like the Braves could have better controlled their destiny on Sunday night, when they allowed Dodgers starter Walker Buehler to complete six innings after throwing 70 pitches through the first three innings. Dylan Lee’s two pitch clock violations in the seventh proved significant, especially when Raisel Iglesias proved human after an eighth-inning scoring opportunity was wasted.

Situational hitting might not align with the Braves’ DNA. But just a couple quality at-bats might have altered the outcome Monday, when Atlanta went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position and got shut out by the Dodgers despite having a runner reach third with one out or less in three of the first four innings.

And the Braves certainly seemed to be in control on Tuesday, when Harris hit his second career leadoff homer and Matt Olson added a two-run shot in the first against Brandon Williamson, who exited with an injury with one out in the second inning. Six Reds relievers combined to allow two runs over 7 2/3 innings.

Meanwhile, a Gio Urshela misplay led to the Reds scoring two runs off Jesse Chavez in the sixth. And Spencer Steer’s two-run home run off Johnson in the seventh inning proved to be the decisive blow. Johnson has allowed three homers in his past 7 2/3 innings. He entered this stretch having allowed just two homers through this season's first 44 2/3 innings.

“In the past we would just outslug everything, but we’re different right now,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.

Injuries have taken Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley out of the lineup and inserted the likes of Whit Merrifield, Ramón Laureano and Urshela, who were all released by different organizations earlier this year. They’ve all provided some value, but the dropoff has been significant.

Urshela has been a sound defender, but despite saying he wasn’t distracted by shortstop Orlando Arcia, he dropped a soft liner that would have resulted in the third out before Chavez surrendered two runs in the sixth.

The Braves have gone 2-for-21 with runners in scoring position over the past two days. Their 2-for-9 performance on Tuesday included Laureano’s RBI infield single in the second. The other hit came in the seventh, when Urshela advanced from second to third on Harris’ single to shallow left.

So, the Braves have scored one run with the 21 at-bats they have collected with runners in scoring position over the past two days.

“Baseball is hard,” Harris said. “You’re not going to score runs every time you have a chance.”

Nor are you going to make the postseason with every opportunity. The Braves’ one constant strength this year has been their starting rotation, which could definitely help them make some noise if they were to get a playoff spot. But that rotation is currently without Reynaldo López, who is dealing with a sore right shoulder.

López’s spot was filled Tuesday by Grant Holmes, who provided four solid innings and exited with a 5-2 lead. The Braves appeared to be in control at that point. But like the previous two days, they fumbled opportunities and weakened their playoff bid.

How will Snitker’s players react now that their backs are truly against the wall?

“I’ve never seen them let things like this multiply,” Snitker said. “I think they’ll come out and be ready to go.”