CINCINNATI -- Playing their 16th game in 16 days, a bullpen game wasn’t ideal for the most heavily used ‘pen in the Majors in that span. But when right-handed starter Connor Seabold was scratched with a sore right triceps, the Rockies had no other choice.

They survived but dropped the finale, 5-3, to the Reds at Great American Ball Park on Wednesday before a much-needed off-day on Thursday. Five pitchers combined to strike out nine batters while allowing nine hits and five walks. The defeat capped a 10-game, three-city road trip that culminated in eight straight losses.

“We rely on everybody every single day in that 'pen, and everybody's done a phenomenal job all year,” said Pierce Johnson, who pitched the seventh. “So it's been one of those road trips, it happens. We've had, I think, 33 games in 34 days collectively, and you know, it's been hard. Then you have some extra-inning games, some rain delays, just makes for a long road trip.”

Not only is the bullpen worn down from the stretch, but the Rockies have been hit with the injury bug, too. They have 10 players on the IL, many of them being regular starters when they’re healthy. Two pitchers -- Seabold and Kyle Freeland (who is starting Friday) -- had their starts pushed back due to minor ailments.

It’s all added up to a team that needs a breather before opening a series at home against the Angels on Friday.

“There's nothing we can really do about it, all we can do is keep showing up,” infielder Ryan McMahon said of the injuries. “I don't think it's from a lack of effort or anything like that. ... We're gonna keep going, man. It's how we're wired, it's just who we are.”

Entering Wednesday’s game, manager Bud Black had no plans of specific innings or pitch counts, but he did have a general idea of how he was going to use the bullpen.

That started with Jake Bird setting the tone early by retiring the side in the first inning. He ran into some trouble in the second, but a double play erased a leadoff baserunner, and a groundout to short ended a Cincinnati threat with two runners on.

Bird, who has 10 starts over 118 career Minor League appearances, was making his first MLB start, and first professional start since 2021. His role on Wednesday was to lay the groundwork for the rest of the bullpen, not provide any sort of length, and he did his job.

“We knew that Jake was going to be limited, he's a relief pitcher. So he gave us two innings, two zeros,” Black said.

Before the game, Black said that Karl Kauffmann would possibly see the bulk of the innings. But the righty, who was called up for Wednesday’s game and didn’t land in Cincinnati until less than three hours before first pitch, struggled near the end of his two-plus innings.

Kauffmann pitched a perfect third inning and faced the minimum in the fourth after a leadoff walk, but he started off the fifth by loading the bases with no outs on a hit batter, a single and a walk. At that point, Black came out to remove his pitcher.

“Our hope was for Karl to maybe pitch a little bit more based on how he was doing,” Black said. “But, you know, he struggled a little bit. He benefited from a 3-0 ground-ball double play after a leadoff walk, then another walk in his second inning of work.

“Karl's gotta learn, just like [Tuesday’s starter Noah] Davis and other young pitchers, that you gotta get the ball in the strike zone. You can't walk fellas.”

All three runners ended up scoring to tie the game after the Rockies hit three solo home runs in the early innings against Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott, who entered the game having not allowed a run through his first three big league starts. The Reds were held scoreless in the sixth and seventh, but Jake Fraley’s two-run home run in the eighth off Daniel Bard sunk the Rockies for good and gave Cincinnati its 11th straight win.

Though the hard stretch may partly explain the Rockies’ subpar play as of late, they certainly aren’t using it as an excuse or letting it become the norm in the clubhouse.

“We know what we signed for coming into the season: 162 games in 184 days,” McMahon said. “So obviously, during a stretch like that, it would definitely be awesome if you're playing good and you can show up every day and ride that momentum, but when you're not, you just have to show up and completely forget what happened the day before.”