LOS ANGELES -- Like most Reds pitchers before him vs. the Dodgers this week, starter Graham Ashcraft navigated nicely against superstar slugger Shohei Ohtani on Saturday. But while Ohtani had plenty of others to pick him up, Ashcraft had no such fortune.

Ashcraft did the grinding and the battling on the mound but got no offensive support during a 4-0 loss to Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium. Cincinnati, which is now a season-high eight games under .500 at 19-27, has dropped 14 of its last 17 games.

It was the sixth time in that span the Reds were held to one run or less.

"You get tested at times," said Reds manager David Bell, whose club is 5-17 over the last 22 games. "As tough as it is, you know when you stay with it, it will turn around. You wish there were shortcuts. Sometimes you have to continue to stick it out. Our team is going to do that."

Bell continues to cling to confidence, but the last time the Reds were eight games under .500 was on May 25 of last season. About two weeks later, Elly De La Cruz and other prospects joined earlier callup Matt McLain on the roster. No such reinforcements to boost the offense are imminently arriving in 2024.

In five innings, Ashcraft gave up three earned runs, three hits and three walks with five strikeouts. The Reds have lost each of his last five starts while the right-hander has a 3.42 ERA in those games.

“Early on, I felt like I was attacking and making some good, quality pitches," Ashcraft said. "They were able to battle them off. It’s hard to say if it was the stuff or they were getting the bat to the ball.”

Ohtani went 0-for-3 against Ashcraft (he's 1-for-10 in the series) but other Dodgers hitters worked him and forced him to throw 106 pitches.

That total included 43 balls and 26 foul balls -- including 14 with two strikes.

"We had a plan to execute and it was to try and get his pitch count up and we were able to do that," Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said. "Even if we didn't score any runs, we did a pretty good job to get him out and get to the bullpen."

The Dodgers were held hitless through three innings but mounted a rally in the fourth when Freeman drew a leadoff walk and Teoscar Hernández walked with one out. In a 1-2 count, Andy Pages reached down at Ashcraft's slider and sent an RBI single into center field.

“Only one hard-hit ball throughout the game. Of course, the walks killed me," Ashcraft said. “After I walked Freddie, I was really trying to get after Teoscar and I was kind of overdoing it a little bit. Pages came up and I felt like I was making some quality pitches to him. That one slider stayed over the plate a little bit. The one before that, he threw his bat. I went back to it. I guess it had too much plate to get away from him.”

A missed cutoff throw by Will Benson put both runners in scoring position. The inning's second run crossed when Gavin Lux made an excuse-me swing for a squib on the first-base line. Ashcraft had no choice but to glove flip the ball to Spencer Steer at first base for the out.

In the fifth inning, Miguel Rojas hit a one-out double and scored on Freeman's two-out single to make it a 3-0 game.

The Reds’ lineup had little answer for Dodgers starter Walker Buehler, who struggled in his previous two starts this season after returning from Tommy John surgery on his elbow. Buehler gave up three hits over six innings.

Cincinnati's best and only real threat to score came in the fifth inning after Jake Fraley hit a triple between the left fielder and center fielder. But Fraley couldn't advance the final 90 feet, as Jeimer Candelario hit a popout foul to the catcher and Jonathan India grounded out to second base.

Sunday offers a chance to earn a four-game series split and finish a 10-game West Coast road trip positively. The schedule doesn't get easier at home, however, with the Padres and Dodgers coming next to Great American Ball Park.

“One pitch at a time. One game at a time. We’re already thinking about tomorrow," Bell said. “Nobody is feeling sorry for us. We don’t want anybody to. We’re moving forward."