Playing great ball when it matters
The Reds with the win tonight and a Mets loss, now sit just 1.0 game back in the WC standings. The Reds have taken the first three games against the Cubs, and have done so in a couple different ways.
Hunter Greene set the tone in the opener, throwing a one hitter and striking out nine in a 1-0 Cincy win. Then Cincinnati won a slugfest by hitting five homers in 7-4 win in game two. Tonight, the Reds won 6-3 while scoring at least one run off all four Cubs pitchers with another three homers. This, along with the Mets going 4-6 in their last 10, has allowed Cincinnati to climb to just a single game back of a wildcard spot.
So, where do the Reds stand currently?
There are seven games left for both New York and Cincinnati, and the Reds have a few advantages. For starters, the Reds have the tiebreaker against the Mets, which means if they finish with the same record, Cincinnati gets the playoff berth. Secondly, the Reds have an easier remaining schedule.
Lastly, and maybe most importantly, the Reds are hot and playing some of their best baseball of the entire season. The Mets have been mostly bad in September, and seem to be falling apart at the wrong time. I’ll let Frank here tell you all about it:
Cincinnati gets one more game against the Cubs, then three crucial games against Pittsburgh at home. They then finish with three games in Milwaukee, but who knows what Milwaukee will be doing after most likely cliching the division and #1 seed in the playoffs between now and then.
New York has one more game against Washington and then have three against the Cubs in Chicago when the Reds are playing the Pirates. Their final series is in Miami, who, while not having anything to play for, are 5-5 this year against the Mets.
So, what record gets the Reds into the dance?
Again, Cincinnati only has to finish tied with New York to get the final playoff spot. So how many more games does Cincinnati need to win to throw their name into the mix to win the World Series? Five feels like it gets us in, and six would almost assuredly get the job done.
We have two more Andrew Abbott starts and two more Brady Singer starts, both guys who have been very effective this season. We get a Hunter Greene vs. Paul Skenes matchup potentially on Wednesday, and Nick Lodolos final regular season start is against Pittsburgh, who he has had success against in his career.
The Milwaukee series is a swing series, depending on what the Brewers have left to play for. They could still be battling Philadelphia for the #1 seed, or have it locked up and be resting guys to setup their playoff rotation. Cincinnati also struggles in Milwaukee which isn’t a surprise for anyone who has watched the Reds the last couple years.
The Mets in that scenario above would need to win either four or five games, which seems totally possible. Say they win tomorrow against Washington, they could easily only win one game in Chicago and two out of three to Miami. If that’s what happens, Cincinnati gets a chance to most likely go to LA for a wildcard series. Keep playing good ball and our Redlegs could find themselves in the playoffs with a chance to make noise in October
