CINCINNATI -- Considering how the Reds rolled into the All-Star break with three straight wins over the Brewers, the way they emerged on the other side only underscores the disappointment and missed opportunity even more.

Milwaukee completed a three-game sweep at Great American Ball Park on Sunday afternoon by handing Cincinnati an 8-0 loss. Taking a wider look, the Reds went 3-4 over the seven consecutive games the two teams played -- including four at American Family Field before the break.

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The first-place Brewers went into the stretch of games on July 8 six games up in the National League Central race. Now, the Reds are looking up at a seven-game deficit. The two teams don't meet again until Aug. 24-26, at Milwaukee, to wrap up their season series.

Manager David Bell could only look forward, especially since the Reds open a three-game series on Monday against another first-place team in the Mets.

"I have great confidence in this team," Bell said. "I have great confidence in every single player on this team. They’ve shown it, we’ve shown it, every single player on this team has shown it over and over again of just continuing to play and keeping it in perspective. It was a tough weekend, obviously. But these things happen, and this is what it’s all about.

"This is what makes good teams, coming back and bouncing back. I have no doubt that is going to happen [if we] just stay positive and stay the course and [continue] to work. We have a long, long way to go."

It was a difficult series on many levels for the Reds.

• On Friday in the third inning, All-Star right fielder Nick Castellanos was hit by a pitch on the right wrist. Although X-rays were negative, Castellanos remained sore and missed the rest of the series.

• During his 2021 debut on Saturday, reliever Michael Lorenzen returned from the injured list after missing the first 90 games only to injure his hamstring running the bases. The Reds plan to place him back on the injured list on Monday.

• The Reds’ bullpen blew leads in both losses on Friday and Saturday. It gave up six runs in Friday's 11-6 defeat. Relievers allowed seven runs after starter Luis Castillo delivered six scoreless innings during Saturday's 7-4 loss in 11 innings.

• Cincinnati was outscored, 26-10, in the last three games and notched only 10 hits over 20 innings in the final two games. Jesse Winker was 1-for-13 in the series while Joey Votto was 1-for-11 and Eugenio Suárez was 1-for-10.

"I can’t wait for tomorrow. I know our guys will respond well," Bell said.

Activated from the 10-day injured list following a rib cage strain, Reds starting pitcher Sonny Gray gave up five earned runs and six hits over 4 2/3 innings. Gray walked four -- including two pivotal two-out walks during a four-run fifth inning -- and struck out six.

The top of the first inning was erratic for Gray, who threw 26 pitches while hitting two batters and walking a third. Rowdy Tellez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force home the game's first run.

"It started speeding up on me a little bit, so I was trying to slow it down the best I could," Gray said. "I just tried to start making pitches, making pitches. Getting out of that inning with one run, I felt, in that moment, that it was a win."

Gray settled in for the next three innings -- including a six-pitch top of the third. After he batted in the bottom of the third inning, the Reds alerted home-plate umpire Lance Barrett that Gray had pine tar residue on his pants -- which could have been a rule violation.

“[Barrett] was like, ‘You have to change pants.’ I was like, ‘Can I just get some dirt and rub it on it? You can feel it,'" Gray explained. "He said, ‘You’re not going to go to it are you?’ I said, ‘I’m not going to it unless [it] hits the fan.’"

Gray's solution was to sit on the mound and get dirt over the sticky pine tar. It worked, but he could not escape the damaging fifth inning. Two walks to Willy Adames and Tellez loaded the bases. Tyrone Taylor hit a two-run single and Jackie Bradley Jr. finished Gray's day with a two-run triple to the right-field corner to make it a 5-0 game.

"I feel like I made a decent pitch to Taylor and he hits it in the six hole, then two runs score. Then that’s probably another moment where I needed to gather myself before the next hitter and keep it at three, gather myself before letting it [go] completely and [continuing] to spiral and that’s what happened. That’s a tough one to swallow, for sure."

The Brewers have closed big gaps to make the postseason in 2018 and '19. The franchise has also seen division leads slip away in recent history. The Crew may have a sizable lead over the Reds now, but they also realize how quickly they can slip away.

"It’s a bad week away from being a really tight race," Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich said. "It’s far, far, far from over."