KSReds: Cincinnati Reds Season Comes to a Close

Success can often be a function of expectation. In a competitive landscape, such as professional sports, it can be easy to think of success in a binary fashion. Winning equals success and losing equals failure.

However, that can often be shortsighted. There can be plenty of space between winning the World Series and true failure. That is where the Cincinnati Reds lived in 2023. When you come so close to making the playoffs every loss is magnified and becomes more frustrating. Yes, this team had opportunities down the stretch to put themselves inside the playoff picture. Conversely, they also racked up a large amount of come-from-behind and one-run wins. This team vastly overachieved and deserves to be called a success.

161 of the 162 games played by the Reds this season were meaningful. They outperformed their projected win total by nearly 20 victories. It was also the third time in the last four seasons they have finished over .500. This isn’t the cellar-dwelling Cincinnati franchise we saw from 2014 to 2019. The Reds have built their way to becoming arguably the most exciting young team in Major League Baseball.

As a small market franchise, competing for a World Series is all about catching lightning in a bottle. With the number of rookies gaining valuable experience this season, the Reds are beginning a two or three-year window where they need to go all-in on winning now. The club proved this season they are just a couple of pieces, along with better injury luck, away from truly competing for a National League pennant.

After losses on Saturday and Sunday, the Cincinnati Reds ended the 2023 season with a record of 82-80. With the Arizona Diamondbacks being swept by the Houston Astros, the Reds would have in fact made the playoffs had they swept the Cardinals. That what-if game does no good now though. However, overall, it was a heck of a fun season to follow as a fan.

Reds Offense Explodes For 19 Runs in Blowout Victory

Entering the series in St. Louis, the Cincinnati Reds needed to sweep in order to have a chance at earning the third and final National League Wild Card spot. They left little doubt on Friday night that their dreams would last at least 24 more hours. Cincinnati exploded for 19 runs on 17 hits in a blowout of the rival Cardinals. Every Red that saw a plate appearance recorded at least one hit and six different players had multi-hit games.

Nick Martini got the fun started in the top of the first inning. The power-hitting lefty belted a three-run home run with two outs to spot the Reds a 3-0 lead. Then, the game started to really open up in the second. Will Benson tripled to score Elly De La Cruz. Next up was Jonathan India who belted a two-run home run. Soon after, Spencer Steer connected on a solo shot that ballooned the lead up to 7-0.

In the fourth, that run total would double as Noelvi Marte, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and Tyler Stephenson all went deep to make it a 14-2 game. Five more were tacked on in the eighth as the Cardinals’ defense collapsed. Cincinnati would come away with their largest victory of the season, 19-2, in St. Louis.

On the mound, left-hander Brandon Williamson turned in a much-needed strong start. He pitched six innings allowing just two runs on five hits. The 25-year-old closed out the season with a 5-5 record and a 4.46 earned run average. Williamson proved himself as someone who could be a capable fifth starter in a top-end rotation. Behind him, Carson Spiers was excellent closing out the final three innings allowing just one hit and no runs. That performance was enough to earn Spiers his first career save.

Game 161 Eliminated Cincinnati From Playoff Contention

Everything that Friday night was for the Cincinnati Reds flipped to the St. Louis side on Saturday evening. It barely took 10 minutes for it to be clear that Game 161 would be the end of the road for the Reds playoff hopes. Starting pitcher Connor Phillips walked the first three batters of the game and was pulled by manager David Bell. In fact, Phillips failed to even throw a strike. 12 balls, three walks, and he exited the game with the bases loaded. Fernando Cruz wasn’t any more effective in relief as he allowed five runs on six hits. Then, by the time Buck Farmer got out of the second inning, it was already 10-0 in favor of the Cardinals.

However, in typical Reds fashion, there was no rolling over. With their playoff lives at stake, Cincinnati actually made the game semi-competitive for a while. Elly De La Cruz struck first with a RBI single in the fourth. Then, Nick Senzel homered in the fifth followed by two-RBI doubles from Tyler Stephenson and Noelvi Marte.

Marte, who is riding a 15-game hitting streak, went deep in the seventh to make it an 11-6 game. Cincinnati would load the bases in the top of the eighth for a chance to cut further into the Cardinals’ lead but came up empty. St. Louis would go on to add four more runs in the bottom half of the frame and come away with a 15-6 victory.

Cardinals Win Season Finale

Game 162 didn’t matter for playoff purposes, but these two National League Central rivals still battled it out on Sunday afternoon. Nick Martini got the Cincinnati Reds on the board in the top of the first inning with a solo home run. The rookie power-hitter looks like a player who could platoon against right-handed pitchers consistently next season. After St. Louis tied it up in the second, Elly De La Cruz gave the Reds a lead once again with a RBI double in the third. However, that would be the final advantage Cincinnati would see in the game.

The Cardinals took the lead in the bottom of the third with a parade of hits off of Hunter Greene. Jordan Walker and Luken Baker produced back-to-back run-scoring doubles to climb on top 3-2. Then, a couple batters later, Jose Fermin added a RBI single increasing the St. Louis lead to 4-2. That score would hold until the seventh when Stuart Fairchild brought Cincinnati within one via a RBI double.

In the ninth inning, the Reds threatened to tie or even take the lead up came up short. Noelvi Marte extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a one-out double. Will Benson then singled and stole second to put runners on second and third. However, Nick Senzel and Fairchild would go down swinging to end the game and the season for the Cincinnati Reds. The Cardinals took the series rubber match by the score of 4-3.