LOS ANGELES (AP/WKRC) – Chasing their first playoff victory since 2012, the Cincinnati Reds instead watched the season slip away Wednesday night.

The Reds were eliminated from the National League Wild Card round with an 8-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2. Cincinnati is 0-5 in the playoffs over the past 13 seasons.

“You know what, it’s hard to know what to take away right now because it’s so fresh and raw. Everybody’s hurting,” said Reds manager Terry Francona. “Only one team can go home at the end on their own terms, and it’s not us this year. The season doesn’t just wind down. It just comes to a crashing halt. And that’s kind of hard sometimes to make your peace with.”

Rookie Sal Stewart raised optimism with a two-run single in the first inning and three RBIs in the game, but his throwing error at first base in the sixth opened the door for four Los Angeles runs.

That the Dodgers’ big inning came after the Reds failed to score in their half of the sixth, despite loading the bases with no outs, only heightened the sting.

“It’s tough,” Stewart said. “I didn’t make some plays out there that cost the team and it’s a tough pill to swallow. I guess I’ll regroup in a few days, a few weeks, and get back to work.”

There remains plenty to savor for Cincinnati like eight victories over the final 11 games of the regular season to secure the final playoff spot in the NL. And there is a roster with plenty of young talent that suggests the best is yet to come.

For now, though, the Reds are left to sift through the rubble of their Game 2 defeat.

“There were a lot of highs and lows this year and a lot to hang our hats on,” outfielder TJ Friedl said. “Getting a taste of that (playoff-clinching) champagne, that’s something we as a group want to remember that feeling.”

The Reds got to Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto early when Spencer Steer was hit by a pitch as the second batter of the game and Austin Hays reached base when Los Angeles right fielder Teoscar Hernandez dropped his fly ball along the right-field line.

Stewart, who made his major league debut Sept. 1 and was starting in his first playoff game, singled past Freddie Freeman at first base to give Cincinnati a 2-0 lead.

The Dodgers stranded runners in each of the first five innings, but they took a 3-2 lead on Kiké Hernández’s RBI double and Miguel Rojas’ RBI single that hit the first-base line to chase Reds starter Zack Littell. The right-hander got the start instead of All-Star Andrew Abbott.

“With Zack, I kind of wanted to keep it where he only faced their lineup twice. I think he ended up giving up six hits, and the last one, kind of the blooper down the right, really hurt,” said Francona. “I thought he threw the ball really well. I thought he navigated his way through the lineup like he knows how to.”

The Dodgers chipped away to take a 3-2 lead in the fourth, with the Reds poised to regain the advantage in the sixth against Yamamoto after Friedl, Spencer Steer and Gavin Lux all opened the inning with singles to load the bases.

But the Reds failed to score when Hays grounded into a force out at home, while Stewart and Elly De La Cruz struck out. Stewart’s costly throwing error followed a half inning later.

“Learning what postseason baseball feels like, understanding what it takes to get to the postseason and what it takes to win in the postseason, I think that is all valuable experience we can use going forward,” Steer said. “Hopefully, that’s the standard for this organization going forward is the postseason.”

“I thought our group from day one was a special group,” said Francona. “We did not accomplish what we set out to do. That takes away nothing from what me and the coaches feel about those guys.”