CINCINNATI -- Coming off back-to-back quality starts, his only two of 2022, Reds starting pitcher Tyler Mahle reverted back to the enigmatic form on Tuesday that’s surprisingly plagued him for much of the season.

During an 11-4 loss to the Cubs at Great American Ball Park, Mahle gave up a career-high eight earned runs and a season-high nine hits over four-plus innings. He walked two, struck out six and allowed two home runs, both to Frank Schwindel. Of the 25 batters Mahle in his 103-pitch outing, eight reached three-ball counts.

“I fell behind some guys. And then I made some bad pitches. You won’t succeed when you’re doing those two things,” Mahle said.

Cincinnati’s Opening Day starter and one that was expected to build on his strong 2021 season, Mahle is 2-5 with a 6.32 ERA through 10 starts. In ‘21, the right-hander was 13-6 with a 3.75 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in a league-leading 33 starts. It was a career high for him in starts, innings (180) and strikeouts (210).

“We have a long way to go,” Reds manager David Bell said. “You’re going to have starts like this. He’s so competitive. He’s such a hard worker. He’s going to figure it out and bounce back next time.”

The Cubs opened the top of the first inning with back-to-back singles to set up Seiya Suzuki’s sacrifice fly, which scored Christopher Morel for the game’s first run.

With two outs and a 3-1 count, Mahle left a 94 mph fastball over the outer half of the plate, and Schwindel sent it the opposite way for a two-run homer that put the Reds down, 3-0.

“Falling behind to Schwindel, that wasn’t good,” Mahle said. “I threw a fastball when everyone in the world knew I was throwing one.”

After the Reds scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning, Mahle didn’t suffer consequences for a second-inning throwing error to second base on a comebacker that should have resulted in a frame-ending double play; he walked the bases loaded but escaped with a strikeout and a groundout. But three straight one-out hits in the third inning culminated with Alfonso Rivas’ two-run triple to right field to make it a 5-2 game. Rivas attacked a splitter that hung over the plate.

To open a five-run fifth inning, Schwindel slugged a 3-2 fastball over the plate for another homer to right field. Mahle’s night ended with a single and a walk before Luis Cessa took over. Cessa, who has now struggled in three straight appearances, could not hold Chicago down as its lineup batted around.

The key to Mahle performances this season has often been the success or failure of his four-seam fastball. As it averaged 93.3 mph, he threw the pitch 57 times on Tuesday but garnered 22 swings, 10 misses and 10 called strikes. But when there was contact, it wasn’t generally soft. Cubs hitters averaged 93.3 mph exit velocity.

“It had its times up in the zone where it looked good and I was getting swings and misses. Other times, it was not,” Mahle said. “When I was getting ahead it was good. When I was behind it wasn’t.”

In his previous two starts -- vs. the Pirates and Guardians -- Mahle combined to give up three earned runs and seven hits over 12 1/3 innings with three walks and 12 strikeouts. It appeared that he found the groove he had been seeking.

But Tuesday proved to be a step backwards as the Reds’ Major League-worst record dropped to 12-30.

“We’ve certainly seen Tyler much better than that,” Bell said. “He was still competing. You’re going to have nights like that where you can’t find it as far as making the pitches the way you want to, having the velocity that he typically has. You’re going to go through stages in the season where you’re just a little bit more fatigued or whatever the case. We’re so used to Tyler being so on top of his game. Tonight just wasn’t his night.”