Somehow, someway the Cincinnati Reds are playoff bound
It wasn’t pretty. Nothing involving the Cincinnati Reds ever is. However, somehow, someway, after a comedy of fortuitous events, the Cincinnati Reds have snuck into the Major League Baseball playoffs for the first time since 2020, and the second time since 2013.
If you’re a Reds fan and know anyone who cheers for the Miami Marlins, you owe them a drink. Or three. The Florida Fish played the perfect spoiler role on Sunday, beating the New York Mets in game 162 to save the Reds from elimination.
All Cincinnati had to do was win on Sunday, something easier said than done, considering they were playing the first-place Milwaukee Brewers for a series sweep. But they were in control of their own destiny.
The game started off promising as a pair of solo home runs from Elly De La Cruz and TJ Friedl gave the Redlegs a 2-0 lead. However, the pesky Brewers quickly responded, posting one run in the bottom of the 4th and three in the 5th to take a 4-2 lead they would not relinquish.
Enter the Fish in shining armor.
The Marlins beat the Mets to get the Reds into the playoffs
With things not looking great in Milwaukee, eyes shifted to the scoreboard down in Florida. The Reds owned the tiebreaker over the Mets, so if they were to finish the season with the same record (i.e. both teams lost on Sunday), the Reds would get the postseason nod.
In a must-win game for the Mets, it was the Marlins who exploded in the 4th inning for four runs, while New York’s bats remained marvously stagnant. Miami finished off the shutout, beating the Mets 4-0, and gifting the Cincinnati Reds an improbable playoff berth.
The Mets entered the final series of the regular season in great shape. They held a one-game lead over the Reds, who squandered their previous series against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates. The Reds had to take on the mighty Brewers, while all the Mets had to do was take care of business against the sub-500 Marlins.
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But the Reds won the first two games against the Brew Crew and the Mets split the first two games with the Marlins, setting up the dramatic final game, where the Mets, thankfully, tripped over their own cleats.
The Reds will take it! And, even after a loss, the celebration was on in the Milwaukee locker room.
The Reds will now take on the Dodgers
Terry Francona came out of retirement and took the Cincinnati Reds to the playoffs in his first season as manager. What an unbelievable story for the 66-year-old future Hall-of-Famer. In his first postseason game as the Reds’ skipper, his team will take on the Los Angeles Dodgers, who finished with the 3-seed in the National League.
The Reds will travel to Dodger Stadium for Game 1 on Tuesday to take on Los Angeles in a three-game series.
Even better, the Reds will have their ace, Hunter Greene, available for Game 1, having primarily lived in the bullpen in Sunday’s final game. The Reds will retain their underdog status, but anything can happen in the playoffs. For now, it’s time to enjoy playoff baseball.
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