After a successful series win in Chicago, the Reds still find themselves three games out of the final Wild Card spot.
But there’s reason for optimism.
The San Diego Padres—the team Cincinnati was chasing—have been on fire lately, going 8-2 in their last 10. They also made multiple deadline moves to gear up for a playoff push.
Catching them was never going to be easy.
Now, as of today, the Padres have leapfrogged the Mets for the second Wild Card spot. That means the only team between the Reds and a playoff berth is now New York—just three games ahead.
And I love that.
The Mets are 2-8 in their last 10 and playing some of their worst baseball at the worst possible time.
To make things even better, New York heads to Milwaukee this week to face a red-hot Brewers team that’s gone 44-16 over their last 60—a franchise record. Good luck with that.
So with 47 games to go, yeah, the Reds are still on the outside looking in… but I’d much rather be chasing a cold Mets team than a surging Padres squad that just got stronger a week ago.
Now, let’s talk about the Reds’ next series—a four-game set in Pittsburgh against the last-place Pirates.
On paper, this should be a great opportunity.
But if you’ve followed this team over the past few years, you know nothing is ever that simple.
The Reds are just 14-18 against Pittsburgh over the last three seasons—even though the Pirates have basically lived in the division basement. For whatever reason, they’ve had the Reds’ number.
This weekend is the most important series of the season so far.
Once again, the Reds are coming off a big series win against a division opponent and are sitting in a great spot. And once again, this is usually where they fall flat—either splitting or losing the series.
That cannot happen this time.
With the Mets visiting Milwaukee, the Reds have to take at least three of four in Pittsburgh. They have to capitalize.
Game 1 won’t be easy. Paul Skenes is on the mound for the Pirates.
But this is the stretch where playoff teams show who they really are.
Let’s see what they’ve got.
