​SAN FRANCISCO – With kids in Cincinnati just getting back to school, here’s some fun Reds math for the occasion.If the 62-71 Reds match their best 29-game stretch of the season to win 19 more games the rest of the way, what’s the sum value?It ain’t much.In fact, it wouldn’t produce even a winning record.So maybe that math isn’t so fun if you’re a Reds fan. Or a Red.Embedded content: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/mlb/reds/2026/08/25/graham-ashcraft-brandon-williamson-injury-news-updates/91463728007/It’s gotten so bad lately during the franchise’s most disappointing season in decades that inning after inning, when they add up their bunts, singles, walks and whiffs, they keep coming up with the same answer: zero.Against a bad Giants team that lost its starting pitcher to injury early in the game for the second straight night, the Reds were shut out for eight more innings on Tuesday (Aug.25) before Sal Stewart led off the ninth with a home run in a 3-1 loss.It narrowly avoided what would have been a 15th wrong-way shutout this season. Instead, they remain tied with the Pirates for most lineup no-shows this season.Math? Five months into a six-month season, Reds math looks more like pi in the face.Until Stewart’s 28th home run (and MLB-leading 99th RBI), they hadn’t scored since the third inning Sunday, for a scoreless streak to 23 consecutive innings – their longest since another 23-inning streak in May of last year.They’ve score one run or none in nine of their last 17 games.Consequently, they’ve lost four consecutive series, 9 of their last 12 games and fallen back to a season low-water mark of nine games under .500.Anybody know the square root of unwatchable?“I’ve had to give myself a couple talking-tos this year,” manager Terry Francona said, “when we started going through the tough time. Because when the losses start to hurt more than the wins are good, that’s not good.”That was in May, a month that began with the Reds in first place and that finished with them in last.“These guys don’t deserve to see me with my tail between my legs,” Francona said. “That’s not going to help anybody.“I try to stay consistent in the moment,” Francona said. “I know what our record is.“Regardless of what our record is, I want us to play the game right. And then if we’re good enough, we’ll be OK. If not, then we’ll have to make some adjustments. But just play the game right.”This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Low-scoring Reds lose again to woeful Giants, drop 4th straight series