This started out as a postseason that was rekindling memories of glorious years past – the 1990 Nasty Boys and maybe even a tiny bit of the Big Red Machine of the 1970s.

Those were the Cincinnati Reds’ last World Series teams and fans had begun to believe this one might be the next.

Instead, this sudden playoff swoon is starting to stir ghosts of star-crossed postseasons in Cincinnati sports history.

Suddenly, you’re wondering if the strained oblique muscle suffered by pitching ace Johnny Cueto last Saturday night in San Francisco – and his removal Wednesday from the active roster – comes with the same black-cloud karma that the broken-leg loss of Kenyon Martin in the Conference USA basketball tournament was to the 2000 Cincinnati Bearcats and the Kimo von Oelhoffen destruction of Carson Palmer’s knee was to the 2006 Cincinnati Bengals .

Both of those clubs went belly up – the powerful Bearcats falling in the second round of the NCAA tournament and the Bengals getting roughed up by the Pittsburgh Steelers in their AFC playoff game.

Although the Reds initially showed backbone following Cueto’s first-inning injury in the opening game of this best-of-five National League Division Series against the Giants (they came home from the West Coast with a surprising 2-0 lead), they seem to be proving that old song to be true.

Maybe they did leave their hearts in San Francisco. And some of their moxie, too.

By the end of Wednesday’s game, an 8-3 loss, their second failure against the Giants in as many nights, the Reds’ body language coming off the field made them seem like a whipped club.

“Our backs are against the wall, but theirs are, too,” centerfielder Drew Stubbs said in the postgame clubhouse.

Asked who had the advantage coming into this afternoon’s deciding game, he said: “Flip a coin. We’re both in the same position. We’re in our home ballpark, but they have momentum.”

Wednesday, in front of another ready-to-celebrate full house at Great American Ball Park, the Giants jumped all over Reds starting pitcher Mike Leake (added to the roster in the late morning to replace Cueto), who gave up five runs in 4 ½ innings.

Later, reliever Jose Arredondo was treated even more rudely. He pitched one-third of the seventh inning and gave up three runs, including a two-run home run to Pablo Sandoval.

That brought boos from the crowd and afterward that moment stuck in the craw of right fielder Jay Bruce.

“Our fans have a pretty interesting way of showing their support,” he said quietly. “I understand them being into the game and wanting the best for us, but sometimes it’s hard to tell whether you’re at home or on the road.”

Tuesday, before the Giants left the visitors’ clubhouse, they got a closed-door, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps speech from veteran right fielder Hunter Pence.

The Giants have taken his message to heart. Now the reeling Reds must find a way to do the same.

“We can’t be scared, can’t be too nervous, but I think everyone is a little nervous,” Bruce said. “And that can be a good thing, in my opinion. It gets the adrenalin going.”

Or, as second baseman Brandon Phillips said: “Some people may bust like a pipe and some people will rise to the occasion.

“Hopefully, our bats will wake up and we’ll just stay within ourselves and get clutch hits and play good defense and have some good pitching and then we’ll be the ones popping champagne.”