PHILADELPHIA – Already in the middle of a three-city road trip as part of a 20-game stretch with no days off, the Cincinnati Reds are struggling with six games left to play.

Hours after losing a 19-inning game early Thursday morning to a hitter-turned-pitcher, the Reds fell 10-4 in an afternoon game to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, dropping to 1-6 on a trip that concludes with three games in Atlanta.

“It’s tough. We’ve kind of been exhausting every option,” right fielder Jay Bruce said. “We’ll get the hit and can’t hold the lead. Or we’ll hold the lead and can’t get the hit. It’s just back and forth. It’s going to pass, though.”

Cliff Lee (4-4) drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double and a single, and worked eight effective innings for the Phillies.

Cincinnati may have also lost a starter pitcher in Homer Bailey, who left Thursday’s game with right shoulder spasms suffered during an at-bat in the top of the fourth inning.

He allowed four runs and five hits and a walk in four innings.

“He had some discomfort swinging the bat reaching for a ball,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “His velocity was down a little after that. We’ll get him checked, but I don’t think it’s serious.”

The teams were playing with little rest after Wednesday’s 19-inning marathon ended at 1:19 a.m., after 6 hours, 11 minutes and 600 total pitches.

Raul Ibanez hit a three-run homer on Thursday for the Phillies, who took three of four from the Reds. Every Phillie had at least one hit, including Chase Utley, who is 2 for 14 since returning from the disabled list earlier this week.

The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Ryan Howard doubled in Michael Martinez with two outs.

Howard was intentionally walked in the fourth inning with two outs and a runner on second, but Ibanez hit an 0-2 pitch for a home run. Ibanez is batting .361 (30 for 83) since snapping an 0-for-35 skid.

The Reds cut it to 4-2 in the fourth inning on Paul Janish’s two-run single that scored Miguel Cairo and Jay Bruce.

Bruce tied the game with a two-run homer to right in the sixth inning. The shot was his National League-leading 14th of the season. Bruce has batted .486 with six homers and 14 RBIs during an eight-game hitting streak.

After Bailey left, Baker turned to rookie Daryl Thompson (0-1), who had been recalled from Double-A, in a tie game. After pitching around two walks in the fifth, the Phillies loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth.

Lee hit a first-pitch double over the head of center fielder Drew Stubbs. It bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double.

“I wanted it down and away, but left it right over the plate,” Thompson said. “He made me pay for it. I had a lot of adrenaline, maybe too much.”

An inning later, Lee’s single up the middle scored John Mayberry Jr. He became the first Phillies pitcher to drive in three runs since Cory Lidle, on Sept. 4, 2004, against the Mets.

“This game is crazy,” Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard said. “You never know what you’re going to see. You’re going to have those hard and crazy games, and you’re going to get things that you never encountered.”

The Reds are encountering a bad stretch.

“When it rains, it pours,” Baker said. “Right now, it’s pouring.”

Notes: Phillies right-hander Jose Contreras, activated from the 15-day disabled list before the game, worked a scoreless ninth inning. … OF Shane Victorino (right hamstring) is scheduled to begin a rehabilitation assignment on Saturday with Class A Lakewood. He is also scheduled to play there Sunday. … Reds utility player Miguel Cairo batted cleanup for the first time this season. … RHP David Herndon was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make room for Contreras. The Reds placed Matt Maloney on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Tuesday, with a strained left oblique muscle.

CINCINNATI — Homer Bailey might be the only person around Cincinnati who didn’t mind another day of steady rain.

The right-hander will get to avoid one more minor league start and return to the Reds’ rotation this week, thanks to the wet weather. A forecast of steady rain all night prompted the Reds to postpone their game against the Houston Astros on Monday, more than three hours before the scheduled start.

The game is to be made up on Thursday afternoon, which had been a day off for both teams.

Bailey, who has spent the season on the disabled list with a shoulder problem, was scheduled to make one final rehab start at Class A Dayton on Thursday while the Reds were off. Now that they’re playing, he’ll start against the Astros instead.

“What do they say, rain is a good thing?” Bailey said. “I was happy to hear that. I felt ready, but there had to be one more start [in Dayton] because of the off day. I felt a little bummed out about it. I’m lucky things worked out.”

Cincinnati had the wettest April in its recorded history. May isn’t starting much better.

Bailey and right-hander Johnny Cueto are coming back from shoulder problems that sidelined them during spring training. Bailey is further along, going 2-0 with a 0.54 ERA in three minor league starts. He gave up only 11 hits and one earned run in 16 2/3 innings, striking out 14.

“I’m definitely glad I can be back at this level of competition, more than anything,” Bailey said. “I feel prepared. I went down and thought I threw well in all my rehab starts. Everything has progressed really well. I’m ready to step back in.”

Manager Dusty Baker plans to move Sam LeCure back into the bullpen when Bailey is activated. One of the relievers will get sent to the minors. The Reds figured Bailey might as well make his next start in Cincinnati instead of Dayton.

“He was scheduled to throw Thursday anyway, and he didn’t necessarily want another rehab assignment,” Baker said. “It’s just better for our situation. He was patient. He worked very hard. Now, it’s a go.”

It was the first postponement for both teams this season. Rain moved into the area about three hours before the scheduled start and was expected to stay all night. There have been 18 postponements in the major leagues this season, according to STATS LLC, three short of last year’s total.

The quick postponement allowed both teams to rest their starters. Cincinnati’s Mike Leake and Houston’s J.A. Happ were able to get light workouts and rest for Tuesday’s game. The Astros are pushing each of their starters back one day but staying in order.

Happ went into the outfield at Great American Ball Park and played catch and ran in the rain, trying to stay loose on his unexpected day off. He was glad the game was called early, allowing him to avoid a long wait in the clubhouse.

“The one good thing would be that they did call it early,” Happ said. “The anxiety can kind of quell down in that sense. It’s tough to come in here and it’s delayed and delayed and delayed and you’re anxious to get out there.”

The postponement gave Astros left fielder Carlos Lee another day to recover from a ribcage injury. He hurt his left side when he ran into shortstop Angel Sanchez during the seventh inning of a 5-0 win over Milwaukee on Sunday, and was taken to a hospital for tests that found no fracture.

Lee was expected to rejoin the team on Monday evening.

“He’s still stiff and sore, but we’re glad to hear the CT scan was negative and also the X-rays were negative,” manager Brad Mills said. “I think we’ll check him out and see how he is and go from there.”

Notes

Jason Bourgeois was scheduled to start for Lee in left field on Monday. … It was only the fourth time in nine seasons that a game was postponed at Great American. … The Reds are 2-1 against the Astros this season and 24-10 over the last three seasons. They’ve won 12 of their last 18 against the Astros. … Baker had planned to start Edgar Renteria at third base on Monday in place of Scott Rolen, who’s on the DL. Instead, Baker had him at shortstop. “I changed my mind,” Baker said. “He’s not really comfortable there yet.”

Right-hander Edinson Volquez will open the Cincinnati Reds’ spring training schedule, pitching the first two innings against the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.

Manager Dusty Baker said Thursday that starters Sam LeCure and Matt Maloney will pitch two innings apiece after Volquez. Both of them started and relieved last season, helping the Reds win the NL Central title.

The Reds’ rotation is set with Volquez, Bronson Arroyo and Johnny Cueto. The last two spots are open to competition. Mike Leake will start a spring training game on Wednesday, Homer Bailey on Thursday and Travis Wood on Friday. Those three are the leading candidates for the other two spots.

Baker picked Volquez as his opening day starter earlier this week.

The Cincinnati Reds and veteran shortstop Edgar Renteria have agreed to a one-year contract, according to multiple media reports.

The team is expected to announce the deal Thursday afternoon. ESPN.com says the contract could be worth up to $3 million with an incentive package.

The Cincinnati Reds and shortstop Edgar Renteria have agreed to a one-year contract.

Renteria, a five-time All-Star, was the 2010 World Series MVP as a member of the Giants. He hit .276 with three home runs in 72 games with San Francisco.

The Cincinnati Reds will announce the signing of shortstop Edgar Renteria to a one-year contract Thursday afternoon, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The deal could be worth as much as $3 million with an incentive package.

Renteria was the 2010 World Series MVP for the San Francisco Giants.

Bruce Levine covers baseball for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN 1000.