The Cincinnati Reds are staring down a crucial series against the St. Louis Cardinals, one where simply winning may not be enough—a sweep could be the only acceptable outcome.
Heading into Friday’s matchup, Cincinnati is hanging on by a thread in the NL Wild Card race after a tough 10-day, nine-game West Coast road trip that cost them ground in the standings. With about a month left in the regular season, their margin for error is razor thin.
The Reds did get an unexpected boost on Thursday, though. While enjoying a day off, they gained a half-game on the New York Mets thanks to the Miami Marlins’ 7-4 win at Citi Field. Cincinnati will need more results like that to continue closing the gap in the Wild Card race this weekend.
Marlins just handed Reds a shocking gift right before high-stakes Cardinals series
After watching the Mets dominate the Phillies — one of the NL’s top clubs — it was surprising to see the struggling Marlins steal Game 1 of their four-game set against New York. Miami took full advantage of three Mets’ errors and came away with the win.
A routine misplay in the third inning opened the door for the Marlins to score three runs, two of them unearned. Then in the seventh, more defensive mistakes by New York let Miami push across three additional runs, which proved to be the difference.
Offensively, the Mets scratched out four runs on seven hits but struck out 10 times. Still, it was the three errors that stood out most.
Instead of heading into their series against St. Louis five games behind in the NL Wild Card chase, the Reds now trail the Mets by only four. If Cincinnati can deliver against the Cardinals while New York continues to stumble against Miami, the gap could shrink even further.
At this stage, it’s shaping up as a two-team race. The Reds (68-66) sit four games behind the Mets (72-62), while the Padres (75-59) remain three games ahead. Cincinnati’s playoff chances have fallen to just 4.6% per FanGraphs, but Thursday’s off-day paired with a Mets loss might be the boost the Reds need as they face the Cardinals on Friday.
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