Despite an effective start from Wade Miley, the Reds fell to the Cardinals, 2-0, at Busch Stadium on Saturday, extending their losing streak to six games.

“He continues to pitch really well. He was in a nice groove, nice rhythm and was pitching with confidence. At one point I really felt like he had a chance maybe to even go the whole game,” said Reds manager David Bell. “When he has his changeup going, has that cutter going, it’s really effective. It’s gonna be very important going forward to have Wade to continue pitching like that.”

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Though the Reds struggled at the plate, Miley was able to keep it a close game during his six innings on the mound. The Cardinals got off to a quick start, as Nolan Arenado hit an RBI single to right field in the first inning to bring in Tommy Edman. But Miley found his groove in the second, with a 1-2-3 inning capped off by a strikeout of opposing starter John Gant.

“Fortunate enough to be able to get out of it with only that one run, but that lineup over there is really good, and it's kind of fun we got into a groove after that, and [I tried] to keep us in the game,” said Miley.

Miley finished his outing having allowed two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out two. He exhibited the same effectiveness he showed in his first two starts of the season, when he allowed just four hits and no runs while racking up nine strikeouts over a combined 11 innings.

Unfortunately for Miley, a sloppy sixth inning allowed St. Louis to extend its lead and keep Cincinnati at arm’s length. After walking Tyler O’Neill with two outs, Miley gave up Andrew Knizner’s RBI double to deep center field on a hit that Jesse Winker couldn’t corral.

“I think those middle innings, I had some fairly quick innings,” Miley said. “I was 10 to 12 pitches per inning for a couple of times, and it was just allowing me to go back out there. If I could have gotten O’Neill right there, maybe [I’d] have a chance to go back out for the seventh.”

Despite the lack of run support and a pair of errors in the field, Miley stayed poised and worked himself out of some tough innings. He and the bullpen combined to strand eight Cardinals, who went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

In the bottom of the seventh, Miley was replaced by Sal Romano, who gave up singles to Dylan Carlson and Paul Goldschmidt but got Arenado to ground into a double play to end the inning. Heath Hembree took the mound for the Reds in the eighth and retired the side in order.

Even though the Reds were shut out, Bell is not worried, considering the team’s recent run of success at the plate heading into Saturday. Through the past six games, the Reds have 46 hits, nine homers and 26 RBIs.

“We’re really pleased overall with our offense,” Bell said. “Our hitters have responded, and the at-bats we’re having ... but that doesn’t mean we rest on that either. Again, it’s April 24, and we have to keep going, keep playing, keep getting better.”

Jonathan India began the day tied with Dodgers infielder Zack McKinstry for the most RBIs among National League rookies, with 14. Though he was held to a single on Saturday, he made an impact with his glove, helping to slow the Cardinals’ offense.

The Reds, though, will need more than a few web gems to end their current skid.

“It’s just one of those things. It’s like it happens at some point to everybody throughout the year, maybe happens multiple times,” said Miley. “We just got to keep coming to the field preparing every day, and hopefully, things will turn in our favor, you know, sooner rather than later.”