CINCINNATI -- Arizona isn't doing anything right during its season-breaking swoon.
Third baseman Jake Lamb made a throwing error that set up three runs in the first inning, and the Diamondbacks managed only four hits during a 6-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night that extended their slump.
The Diamondbacks have lost 17 of 21, falling from third into the basement in the NL West.
"We need to play better," manager Chip Hale said. "It's quite simple. It's not rocket science."
Jay Bruce hit a three-run homer and barely missed another during one of Cincinnati's final home games before the non-waiver trade deadline. The Reds, who are in last place in the NL Central, have won three consecutive series for the first time, finding success against other struggling teams.
Bruce's 20th homer off Robbie Ray (5-9) on a two-strike pitch gave him the team lead with 69 RBIs. He also doubled off the top of the wall in left field and thought he might have gotten another homer, but the call of a double was upheld after a video review.
"I should never give up an 0-2 hit, much less a homer, to a left-hander," Ray said. "I tried to bury a slider and left it up and over the plate."
The Reds got three unearned runs in the first, two of them on Lamb's throwing error. Brandon Phillips doubled home a run to complete the inning.
The Diamondbacks blew a chance to get out of the inning when they got Billy Hamilton caught in a rundown but botched it, allowing him to get back to third base safely.
"In the first inning, those three runs were on our defense," Hale said. "We had him in a rundown. Those are plays that have got to be made at this level."
Michael Lorenzen (1-0) took over in the fourth inning for Keyvius Sampson, who made his first start of the season after seven relief appearances. A starter last year, Sampson hadn't gone more than four innings this season. He gave up four hits in 4 1/3 innings, throwing 88 pitches.
Arizona's Chris Owings was activated off the disabled list and singled home a run in the first inning. Owings had been sidelined by plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
Arizona has managed only nine hits in the first two games of the series. Paul Goldschmidt and Lamb -- their 3-4 hitters -- are a combined 0 for 12.
"As a team, we're not playing well enough," Goldschmidt said. "The last two nights, it's been the offense."
The Diamondbacks were still fuming over leadoff hitter Jean Segura getting hit in the lower back by Dan Straily on Friday night. The plunking came on the first pitch of his next at-bat after a solo homer. Hale thought Straily hit him on purpose, and warned that "there's going to be some retribution at some point."
There were no issues on Saturday. Ray's first pitch to Joey Votto in the first inning was an 82 mph breaking ball that sailed over his head for a wild pitch. Nobody from either team got hit.
The first inning lasted 38 minutes and featured 61 combined pitches.
Ray fanned a career-high 10 batters in five innings. He's the second pitcher in team history to strike out at least 10 in five innings, joining Max Scherzer (Sept. 7, 2008 against the Dodgers). ... The Reds will try for their first three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks in Cincinnati since 2007. ... Votto has hit safely in all eight games since the All-Star break.
Diamondbacks: Placed INF Nick Ahmed on the 15-day DL with a sore right hip. He started at shortstop on Friday and went 0 for 2 with a walk during Cincinnati's 6-2 win. Hale said Ahmed's hip has been bothering him and was especially sore during the game Friday.
Diamondbacks: RHP Zack Godley (2-1) gave up four runs in five innings of a 5-1 loss to the Blue Jays on July 19. He'll make his first career start against the Reds.
Reds: LHP Brandon Finnegan (5-7) got the win by going five innings in an 8-2 win over Atlanta on Monday. He hasn't gone more than five innings in any of his last three starts.
