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[Cincinnati Reds]

Sal Stewart lifts Reds to vital win over Cardinals in playoff chase

The Cincinnati Reds battled early and often in their series opener in St. Louis against the Cardinals, eventually plating big runs in the Top of the 9th to run away with an 11-6 victory.

Sal Stewart got the scoring going with a mammoth solo homer off the facade of the second deck in the Top of the 2nd, and he legged out an infield single in the Top of the 9th to give the Reds an 8-6 lead and vital insurance run at the time. Of course, Tyler Stephenson followed Stewart’s infield single with a bases-clearing double to put the Reds ahead by what became the final score, putting a game on ice at that juncture that had been a see-saw affair for two hours prior.

Sal Stewart is on an absolute heater to start his big league career

MLB's No. 30 prospect (@Reds) raises his OPS to .919 after a three-hit game — including a 112.6 mph homer off the second deck: pic.twitter.com/Tgl1OV6oDZ

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 16, 2025

Reds starter Zack Littell was primarily responsible for the early see-saw, as he retired 12 straight Cardinals hitters at one point before St. Louis managed to punch their way ahead in the Bottom of the 6th. He was dominant at times, vulnerable at times, and that’s pretty much the scouting report for him that we’ve come to know in his month and a half as a member of the Reds.

The win brought Cincinnati back to .500 at 75-75, and drew them back to within 2 games of the final National League Wild Card spot with the New York Mets idle on Monday. Meanwhile, the Arizona Diamondbacks thumped the San Francisco Giants on Monday night to move to 76-75, said loss dropping the Giants to an indentical 75-75 record with Cincinnati heading into the final week and a half of the 2025 regular season.

As for the totality of the Reds on the evening, it was a refreshing reminder that there is offensive talent on this squad even if we’ve failed to see it nearly as often as we’d like down the stretch. Elly De La Cruz, who was finally dropped from the #3 spot in the lineup after struggling with the bat for months, chipped in with a double and a pair of walks in something of a get-right game, but the early returns of Sal Stewart in the big league lineup are that he’s a cog around which they need to build going forward.

The 21 year old bashed his 4th homer of his brief career as part of a 3-hit night, scoring thrice and driving in a pair while looking anything but overmatched at the dish. The ripple effects of what he’s already capable of doing at the plate against Major League starters will – or should – dictate what Nick Krall and Co. do to rectify their offense this winter, as Sal has staked an immediate claim to a corner infield position on this roster going forward.

Let’s just hope he can spearhead a two-week miracle for this Reds club to finish the 2025 campaign with aplomb.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/game-recaps/48637/sal-stewart-cincinnati-reds-home-run

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Game 150: Reds at Cardinals (7:45 PM ET) – Littell vs. Liberatore

This is pretty much it for the Cincinnati Reds if they lose.

So, if you’re a fan of the Cincinnati Reds – and of their few and far-between chances to actually play postseason baseball – you should probably be root, root, rootin’ for them in St. Louis tonight.

Zack Littell toes the rubber. First pitch is at 7:45 PM ET. That much was gleanable from the headline.

Lineups below. Elly’s hitting 7th.

Go Reds.

Today’s Lineups​

TJ Friedl – CF	Brendan Donovan – 2B
Noelvi Marte – RF	Ivan Herrera – DH
Miguel Andujar – DH	Alec Burleson – LF
Austin Hays – LF	Willson Contreras – 1B
Sal Stewart – 1B	Lars Nootbaar – RF
Tyler Stephenson – C	Nolan Arenado – 3B
Elly De La Cruz – SS	Thomas Saggese – SS
Ke’Bryan Hayes – 3B	Jimmy Crooks – C
Matt McLain – 2B	Victor Scott – CF
Zack Littell – RHP	M. Liberatore – LHP

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CARDINALS​

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Source: https://www.redreporter.com/game-threads/48634/zack-littell-cincinnati-reds-st-louis-cardinals

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Game 151: Reds at Cardinals (7:45 PM ET) – Abbott vs. McGreevy

The Cincinnati Reds offense took off last night after lefty Matthew Liberatore exited the game in their eventual 11-6 victory in the series opener. The hope on Tuesday night, of course, is that the Reds bats can begin mashing right from the start and keep the party going all evening long.

They won’t have a southpaw on the mound to stifle them initially tonight. This time they’re up against righty Michael McGreevy, a former 1st round pick by the Birds who did shut Cincinnati down thoroughly when the two met back on August 30th in Great American Ball Park (6.0 IP, 5 H, ER).

Thous August Reds were devoid of one Sal Stewart, however, and we all know how that’s been working out for Cincinnati now that they’ve got him in the lineup everyday.

Sal’s batting cleanup tonight and playing 1B as the revamped Cincinnati lineup tries to claim the series over St. Louis and keep tabs on the NL Wild Card race.

First pitch is set for 7:45 PM ET. Lineups below!

Today’s Lineups​

TJ Friedl – CF	Brendan Donovan – 2B
Gavin Lux – DH	Ivan Herrera – DH
Noelvi Marte – RF	Nolan Arenado – 3B
Sal Stewart – 1B	Alec Burleson – 1B
Will Benson – LF	Thomas Saggese – SS
Tyler Stephenson – C	Lars Nootbaar – LF
Elly De La Cruz – SS	Pedro Pages – C
Ke’Bryan Hayes – 3B	Jordan Walker – RF
Matt McLain – 2B	Nathan Church – CF
Andrew Abbott – LHP	Michael McGreevy – RHP

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REDS​

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CARDINALS​

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Source: https://www.redreporter.com/game-threads/48643/cincinnati-reds-st-louis-cardinals-preview-lineups

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

The Cincinnati Reds need a miracle in St. Louis

There it is, that word again.

Miracle.

Fresh off being swept at the hands of the citiless A’s, the Cincinnati Reds are beyond having their backs up against the wall in the race to make the National League playoffs. They are firmly in a position where they need an absolute miracle for that to happen.

They’re 2.5 games back of a New York Mets club that already gave them an 8-game losing streak on which to build momentum (which the Reds did not seize). They’re now behind both the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks in the jockeying Wild Card spots, closer in the standings to the St. Louis Cardinal (who are a meager 73-77) than they are to a team in a current playoff position.

The Reds are under .500, and yet we’re still trying to find relevance here with 13 games remaining. And, of course, they’re about to face their nemesis – those very Cardinals – on the road in St. Louis when the home team in the series has the chance to spoil absolutely every last inch of hope the Reds still have.

St. Louis even activated Nolan Arenado just in time for the series opener on Monday night, too.

Cincinnati will be sending Zack Littell to the mound again, while the Cardinals will counter with Matthew Liberatore. That’s a lefty on the bump for the Cardinals, something that’s haunted the Cincinnati offense for years now, though the hope is that Sal Stewart (who’s in the lineup at 3B) can help mitigate that problem going forward.

Also, manager Terry Francona finally, mercifully dropped Elly De La Cruz in the batting order after he’d struggled terribly for the better part of three months. Elly’s hitting 7th tonight, while Miguel Andujar will bat 3rd and DH.

First pitch in St. Louis is set for 7:45 PM ET in what may well end up the final relevant game of Cincinnati’s season should it once again not go their way.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/game-pr...ed-a-miracle-st-louis-cardinals-nolan-arenado

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Game 152: Reds at Cardinals (1:15 PM ET) – Singer vs. Pallante

The Cincinnati Reds try to win a series in St. Louis on a Wednesday afternoon.

Lineups below. Go Reds!

Today’s Lineups​

Gavin Lux – DH	Lars Nootbaar – LF
Noelvi Marte – RF	Ivan Herrera – DH
Will Benson – CF	Alec Burleson – 1B
Austin Hays – LF	Nolan Arenado – 3B
Sal Stewart – 3B	Nolan Gorman – 2B
Elly De La Cruz – SS	Thomas Saggese – SS
Spencer Steer – 1B	Jimmy Crooks – C
Jose Trevino – C	Jordan Walker – RF
Matt McLain – 2B	Victor Scott – CF
Brady Singer – RHP	Andre Pallante – RHP

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CARDINALS​

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Source: https://www.redreporter.com/game-threads/48650/cincinnati-reds-brady-singer-game-cardinals

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Reds defeat Cubs 1-0 behind Hunter Greene’s masterpiece

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The starting pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds has a dominant start while the Reds fail to provide run support. In tonight’s version of this story, you can insert Hunter Greene’s name into that starting pitcher role, surely not for the first time this year, as he completely shut down a Chicago Cubs lineup fresh off of clinching a playoff spot. In all, he allowed only 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 9 in his first career complete game shutout. The last time he went that long without allowing a run was all the way back in 2022, when he went 8.2 innings without allowing a run. What an incredible performance tonight when the Reds absolutely needed it the most.

Equally as impressive was Cubs’ starter Colin Rea, who struck out 11 Reds over 7 innings of work and allowed the only run of the game. Thankfully, that lone run was all the Reds needed tonight thanks to the aforementioned performance by Greene. That run came in the bottom of the 4th inning, as Austin Hays led off with a double to right field. After a Sal Stewart strikeout, Will Benson would deliver yet again as he lined a double to center to drive in Hays to give the Reds the 1-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Hunter Greene continued to cruise. He hit his spots all night, inducing weak contact and lots of swings and misses. He carried a no-hitter into the 7th inning, one that was broken up on a double by Seiya Suzuki that probably would have been made if Ke’Bryan Hayes hadn’t been scratched with a sore back. There was a scare late, as Michael Busch led off the 9th by flying out to Will Benson at the warning track. But ultimately, Greene would strike out the final two batters, hitting 100 MPH in both at-bats, to deliver the 1-0 victory.

Tonight was an important victory for the Reds playoff chances. The Mets took a series from the Padres earlier today while the San Francisco Giants host the Dodgers later this evening. As it stands tonight, the Reds are tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks at 2 games back from the Mets, while the Giants sit at 2.5 games back with their game yet to start. If the Reds do make the playoffs, tonight’s outing by Hunter Greene is one we will point to as a pivotal moment in their late season run.

Things don’t get easier, as they still have another 3 games against the Cubs looming. Nick Lodolo gets the start on Friday against Shota Imanaga. First pitch is at 6:40 PM EDT. Go Reds!

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/game-recaps/48658/reds-defeat-cubs-1-0-behind-hunter-greenes-masterpiece

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Through the NL Central the Cincinnati Reds must go to reach the playoffs

That title’s as obvious as it gets if you write it on Opening Day.

Thanks to the quirks of the scheduling gods, it’s as obvious as it gets for me writing it on September 18th, too.

The Cincinnati Reds have 10 games remaining on their 2025 regular season slate, and all 10 of them will come against their division rivals in the National League Central. First up is a 7-game homestand with the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates in town, and the Reds will hit the road to wrap the schedule with a trio of games against the might Milwaukee Brewers.

First up, though, are the Cubs, and they’re a mighty foe. They’ve clinched a playoff spot already, to their credit, and currently boast four separate position players who are pacing for 5+ WAR seasons in Nico Hoerner, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker, and Dansby Swanson. They rank among the absolute elite teams in all of baseball in wRC+, wOBA, xwOBA, runs scored, homers, steals, and even defense. In other words, the Cincinnati pitching staff is going to have its work cut out for it over the next four games if the Reds are to stick around this Wild Card chase of theirs.

If there’s a weakness for the Reds to exploit, though, it’s Chicago’s starting pitching. That unit’s xFIP (4.33) ranks just 23rd overall so far this year, and the likes of Colin Rea, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, and Javier Assad are hardly imposing on paper as hurlers the Reds are slated to face. So, it’s encouraging that the Reds will counter with Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Zack Littell, and Andrew Abbott over the course of the action.

Cincinnati sits 2 games back of the final NL Wild Card spot, tied with the San Francisco Giants and a half-game back of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They’re all chasing the stumbling New York Mets, who wrap a series in San Diego tonight before hosting the Washington Nationals over the weekend. They, then, hit the road to face the very same Cubs before wrapping against the Miami Marlins, so it’s hardly the toughest slate they’ve got remaining. So, the Reds are just going to have to buckle down and stack up wins against some pretty damn good teams, maybe hoping that they’ve eased off the accelerator now that they’ve solidified their postseason positions.

Anyway, it’s set to be a rockin’ weekend in GABP so long as the Reds don’t fumble the ball on Thursday and Friday and make Saturday and Sunday all moot.

Go Reds!

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/game-previews/48653/cincinnati-reds-chicago-cubs-preview-playoffs

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Reds hit 5 home runs to power past Cubs in 7-4 win

On a night after they needed only a single run to get past the Cubs thanks to a Hunter Greene shutout, the Cincinnati Reds turned the power on on Friday night and hit a barrage of home runs to take a 7-4 victory in another much needed win. Spencer Steer led the way for the Reds, reaching base 3 times and hitting 2 of the Reds’ 5 home runs on the evening, joining Miguel Andujar, Matt McLain, and Elly De La Cruz who also homered tonight.

The firepower was needed tonight, as Reds’ starter Nick Lodolo labored through his outing tonight. He dealt with base runners all night and had trouble with the long ball himself, as the Cubs scored all 4 of their runs via the long ball. Lodolo, however, was able to limit the damage enough to allow the offense to come back and take the lead for good. In all, Lod0lo threw 4.2 innings and allowed 4 runs on 9 hits with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts. He exited the game in the top of the 5th with 2 runners on, but Connor Phillips was able to get Dansby Swanson to line out on his first pitch to end the inning.

The big inning for the Reds came in the bottom of the 6th. With the game tied 4-4, Austin Hays hit an infield single with 1 out. That brought up Spencer Steer, who hit his second home run of the night over the wall in left-center to give the Reds a 6-4 lead. The Reds weren’t done there, as Elly De La Cruz mis-hit a ball over the wall in left to end his 43(!) game homerless streak and give the Reds a 7-4 lead.

Enough can’t be said about the performance of the bullpen tonight. After Lodolo’s night ended early, Connor Phillips, Nick Martinez, Tony Santillan, and Emilio Pagan combined to allow only 3 base runners over the last 4.1 innings to preserve the victory. Those are exactly the performances the Reds need at this point of the season to keep their playoff hopes alive, especially on a night where the ball seemed to be flying out of the park.

Tonight’s win, at worst, keeps the Reds 2 games back of the New York Mets for the final Wild Card spot. At the time of this writing, the Mets lead the Washington Nationals 8-6 in the 7th inning. The Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants have yet to start their games tonight. Isn’t it fun to watch scoreboards at the end of September?

The Reds and Cubs go at it again tomorrow. Zack Littell (9-8, 3.86 ERA) starts for the Reds and will face off against Javier Assad (3-1, 4.23 ERA) with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 PM EDT. Go Reds!

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/game-recaps/48669/reds-power-past-cubs-in-7-4-win

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Game 175: Reds vs. Cubs (6:40 PM EDT) – Littell vs. Assad

Today’s Lineups
CUBS REDS
Michael Busch – 1B TJ Friedl – CF
Nico Hoerner – 2B Spencer Steer – 1B
Ian Happ – LF Gavin Lux – DH
Moises Ballesteros – DH Austin Hays – LF
Dansby Swanson – SS Will Benson – RF
Pete Crow-Armstrong – CF Elly De La Cruz – SS
Matt Shaw – 3B Tyler Stephenson – C
Willi Castro – RF Ke’Bryan Hayes – 3B
Reese McGuire – C Matt McLain – 2B

Javier Assad – RHP Zack Littell – RHP

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/game-threads/48679/game-175-reds-vs-cubs-640-pm-edt-littell-vs-assad

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Rhett Lowder might be done for the season after all

It’s been exactly a week since Rhett Lowder made his return to the mound for AAA Louisville, and exactly five days since we wondered aloud if that meant he’d be potentially available as a member of the Cincinnati Reds staff before season’s end.

That potential hit a serious stumbling block yesterday, unfortunately. Lowder was scratched from what would have been his second start since returning from the forearm and oblique injuries that had sidelined him for the bulk of 2025, but soreness in his shoulder still resonated from his first outing and the club scratched him at the last minute, per MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon.

While the good news is that the MRI results returned with nothing structurally wrong with his shoulder, it’s hard to see any scenario now where there’s enough time to build him up with enough strength and stamina to join a big league bullpen – let alone make a start – before the end of this regular season.

It’s a damn tough pill to swallow for both Lowder and the Reds, surely. Their 1st round pick from 2023 made the leap all the way to the big leagues last year after breezing through minor league offenses, and even acquitted himself well in the majors in the limited time he was there.

Now, it looks as if he’s going to end up filing a mostly lost 2025 regular season, though there’s still some optimism that he’ll be back to 100% in time to pile up some innings in Arizona Fall League play. The AFL has been used by the Reds often in recent years to get some reps for players who’d spent far too long on the sidelines with injuries during seasons, with Matt McLain and Christian Encarnacion-Strand having done that just last year. It’s good enough competition to not just gauge his health, but also how good his stuff is playing after so much time on the shelf with arm problems, and the hope now is that he’ll be able to at least complete calendar year 2025 with the Peoria Javelinas on a high note.

For the Reds, though, that’s one potential boost for their playoff push now off the table.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/latest-...season-ending-cincinnati-reds-shoulder-injury

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Cincinnati Reds climb into playoff position with sweep of Cubs

Gavin Lux drove in Matt McLain in the Bottom of the 3rd in Sunday’s series finale between the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs, and it was the first and last time the scoreboard would change on the day.

Behind Andrew Abbott’s solid (albeit inefficient) start and some stellar work by the Cincinnati bullpen, the Reds held on for a 1-0 win over their NL Central rivals, in the process sweeping the Cubs in the 4-game set in Great American Ball Park for their 5th consecutive win overall. That paired with yet another loss by the New York Mets has the Reds tied for the final Wild Card spot in the National League as play ends on Sunday, with the Reds and Mets both sitting at 80-76 on the year.

Nick Martinez was brilliant out of the bullpen in precisely the kind of bulk/fireman role he’s excelled in before, firing 2.1 IP of scoreless ball after Abbott exited after just 4.2 IP.

The Reds have won 6 of 7 overall while the Mets have lost 11 of 15.

Cincinnati will have Monday off before welcoming the Pittsburgh Pirates to town, with Brady Singer scheduled to toe the rubber in the series opener on Tuesday at 6:40 PM ET. The Mets, meanwhile, will travel to Chicago to face these same recently-swept Cubs on Tuesday after an off-day of their own.

As for Cincinnati’s series against Pittsburgh, they’ll face Paul Skenes in the 2nd game of the series on Wednesday, making Tuesday’s game pretty paramount in the grand scheme.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/game-re...ds-playoffs-wild-card-chicago-cubs-sweep-mets

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Cincinnati Reds links – Path to the playoffs

With their victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, the Cincinnati Reds completed the 4-game sweep of their National League Central rivals and sent a shiver down the spine of the stumbling New York Mets.

The Reds, right now, are in playoff position. They’re tied with the New York Mets at 80-76 with 6 games remaining, yet the Reds own the tiebreaker over the Mets thanks to beating up on them more often than not during the 2025 regular season.

That, of course, means the ball is in their court. They control their own destiny – keep winning, and they’re in.

That will mean taking down the Pittsburgh Pirates, who come to town Tuesday for the final series in Great American Ball Park of the season. It may also mean needing to take down Paul Skenes, who seems in-line to take home the National League Cy Young Award should the Reds not score, say, 28 runs off him in his start against them on Wednesday.

Then, it’s off to Milwaukee to face the Brewers to finish the season, though there’s some hope that the Beers may be resting some of their key players (or at least their key bullpen arms) as they ramp up for a deep postseason run.

One team that’s not going to frontload their starters to make a push for the playoffs? Well, that’s the Cincinnati Reds themselves. As Gordon Wittenmyer of The Enquirer noted, the Reds aren’t going to realign their starting rotation for the final week of the season, and that means Hunter Greene is now theoretically lined up to be on plenty of rest for the first game of a Wild Card series, should the Reds make it. While it does seem brash on some level to hold back an ace to be ready for playoffs you may not make, it’s also an endorsement of the quality of the rest of the arms in the Reds rotation.

In case you’ve been under a rock all year, Reds starting pitchers have accrued 15.2 fWAR so far this season, and that’s behind only the elite starting rotation in Philadelphia atop the MLB leaderboard. If you’ve actually been under a rock this season, I should probably tell you that they’ve climbed to that level despite Greene having missed some two months with injury, so the guys they’ll be turning to this week around him are plenty damn qualified.

As things stand, it looks as if the starters to wrap the year will be Brady Singer, Hunter Greene, and Nick Lodolo against Pittsburgh with Zack Littell, Andrew Abbott, and Singer again going on the road against Milwaukee. Littell’s home/road splits are a bit tougher to decipher since he pitched over half the year in the AL East with Tampa, but Andrew Abbott actually has held opponents to a lower OPS (.641 on the road, .669 in GABP) this year despite his ERA being higher on the road (3.31 vs. 2.39), and his K/BB is wildly better in road games. Singer, meanwhile, has yielded an OPS .100 points higher in road games than in GABP and owns a 4.75 ERA away from GABP (vs. a 3.07 at home), so don’t be surprised if the season’s final regular season game ends up a Nick Martinez special (if the Reds haven’t, y’know, already clinched by then).

Over at Redleg Nation, Doug Gray broke down the updated odds of the Reds making the playoffs given their work over the weekend, and it’s clear the odds-makers hate Cincinnati and love New York. Technically, that’s not true at all, but you’ll probably feel that way.

ESPN Analytics still only gives the Reds a 1% chance of winning the World Series this year in their latest playoff tracker. I’m not a gamblin’ man, but that’s probably of interest to some folks out there reading this.

Finally, Jay Jaffe of FanGraphs took a closer look at some very notable home run droughts during this particular MLB season, with Elly De La Cruz’s power outage of particular focus. It’s a good read if for no other reason than to point out just how many other pretty name-brand players have had odd gaps without power this season, too.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/red-reposter/48698/cincinnati-reds-links-playoff-odds-world-series

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

The exorcisms on the line for the Cincinnati Reds

For those of a certain generation, you may never not hear the fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates chanting CUETO! CUETO! CUETO!

It runs through my head whenever the Cincinnati Reds play Pittsburgh. It runs through my head whenever I think of Johnny Cueto. It certain runs through my head whenever I try to remember what it’s like to actually see the Reds play big-time, playoff baseball, something that sadly has eluded both them and me during the bulk of my adult life.

October 1st, 2013 – twelve years ago in another week – was the last time the Reds so much as scored a run in a Major League playoff game. It’s the last time they really even participated in a playoff game in semi-normal conditions, as the 2020 Wild Card series against the Atlanta Braves – in which they did not even score – only came about when they snuck in as the 7-seed in playoffs intentionally expanded for that season due to its regular season being shortened by the COVID pandemic. Barely any fans were even in the stands for that atmosphere, either, as social distancing was still in place.

They lost those games, all of them. You know that already.

Even that 2013 game came as a single, one-game Wild Card play-in game in Pittsburgh, meaning it’s been since Buster Posey destroyed a Mat Latos meatball for a grand slam in Great American Ball Park in Game 5 of the 2012 National League Division Series since the Reds so much as played a playoff game beyond a token Wild Card opener. You remember that one, right?

View Link

Sorry, sorry…not sure how that one got embedded here. You might just have to watch it on accident.

Those, mind you, were the good times, thirteen entire years ago. The Reds actually won a pair of playoff games that year, in that series, and had the Giants – who went on to win the World Series – on the brink for a trio of games in GABP. They lost all three of those, of course, because these are the Reds and these are their heartbreaks of which we speak.

Turn the clock back another pair of years to 2010 and you see the Reds, division champs as they were again in 2012, being no-hit by Roy Halladay and the Philadelphia Phillies as they were swept aside without advancing in their first trip to the postseason since 1995. That 15 year gap has now been doubled, as the aforementioned folks of a certain generation feel their knees ache, backs tighten, and gray hairs continue to sprout.

1995. Disney’s Toy Story debuted – the first one. OJ Simpson was found not-guilty, Kobe was destroyed by the Great Hanshin Earthquake, and the IOC selected Salt Lake City to host a 2002 Winter Olympics that similarly seems like eons ago. The aptly named Windows 95 debuted. Dave Winfield, who debuted in 1973 alongside Don McMahon (who was born in 1930) was still playing ball for Cleveland, and the nascent ESPN2 was still called ‘the deuce.“

That 1995 club, as anyone who’s followed the Reds in those trio of decades, was the last one to actually win a postseason series. That team was managed by Davey Johnson, rest his soul, and featured Frank Viola, who was once teammates with Larry Milbourne, who was once teammates with Cincinnati Reds legend Johnny Edwards, who is 87 damn years old.

It’s been 30 years since the Reds were even one of the four teams remaining with a chance to win the World Series. It’s been 13 years since they were even as close as the final eight. Beyond that, it’s not as if the years in between 1995 and 2012 afforded us the same kind of opportunities as, say, those of the Atlanta Braves, who kept winning NL East title after NL East title only to drop 10 straight playoff series between 2002 and 2020.

Do you, a Reds fan, even know what network is televising the NL Wild Card round this year? Or what channel the World Series will be on? Did you schedule a bunch of fun non-baseball things to do in late September and early October because, as a Reds fan, that’s become precisely the time of year when you don’t have any rooting interest in a baseball team? Has that become such a yearly ritual that you didn’t even notice?

These Reds, who have surged into playoff position thanks to timely hits and the perpetual stumbling by the New York Mets, have the chance to turn this miracle not just into something you’ll recall for a week until the next great college football game. At the time, we pretty well assumed 2010 and 2012 and 1995 would each be filed away in our Reds-related memories as ‘the starts of something,’ too. As we’ve aged, and as we’ve learned, it’s readily evident that this franchise has mostly robbed us of the opportunity to root for legitimately good teams playing good baseball at the most important times of the year, and the chance to glimpse that for yourself comes around so seldom that it sears itself into your memory forever when it’s actually here.

2025. The 2025 Reds have the chance to do it to us, on the arms of Andrew Abbott and Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo, on the hot bat of Spencer Steer and the swagadocio of young Sal Stewart. On an Elly De La Cruz late-season renaissance, on Nick Martinez pitching anytime, anywhere.

It’s fitting that tomorrow, Tuesday, the Reds will begin their final two-series push for the postseason with Pittsburgh in town. Folks of a certain generation – my generation – have something of a connotation of only playing Pittsburgh in the biggest of games. It happened in 2013. It happened back in 1990, over Barry Bonds, Doug Drabek, Andy Van Slyke, and Bobby Bonilla. If the 2025 Reds are going to fend off all challengers and actually make the playoffs, they’ve got to treat every game they play this week – including against Paul Skenes and Pittsburgh – as if it’s a playoff game, too.

This, right here, is the biggest week of a Cincinnati Reds baseball season since Sal Stewart was 8 years old. If they play their cards right this week – and next – it could be the biggest week of lifelong Reds fan Brent Suter’s life since he was six, and he just turned thirty-six.

All it takes is great play and a continued miracle, and these Reds could well exorcise some an entire generation of baseball demons.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/playoffs/48693/cincinnati-reds-playoff-drought-buster-posey

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Brady Singer knocked around in crucial Reds loss to Pirates

The Cincinnati Reds opted not to shuffle their starting rotation heading into the final six games of the season despite Monday’s day-off, instead sticking with Brady Singer as their starter (and thereby putting him on-track to be the only Reds starter to make two more starts before season’s end).

Whether or not Terry Francona was going to rue that decision became a hot topic early, unfortunately.

Singer was touched up by a patchwork Pittsburgh Pirates offense for 4 ER in the 2nd inning alone, setting the tone for a game in which the Reds offense outside of Elly De La Cruz stumbled, bumbled, and double-played its way into a critical 4-2 loss. Singer served up an opposite-field homer to Oneil Cruz as part of that devastating inning, and the air in a hopping Great American Ball Park never fully got pumped back up.

Elly, to his credit, looked as good as he has in months in an attempt. He launched a moonshot 2-run homer in the Bottom of the 2nd to halve the score, at the moment giving some hope that the rest of the Reds could find a way to climb their way back into the game. Sadly, though, even his 3 for 3 night (that included a walk) couldn’t be matched by the rest of the wet noodles in Cincinnati’s lineup, and the Reds – at the time the game ended – fell to 80-77, a half-game behind the New York Mets for the final NL Wild Card spot.

The Mets are currently leading the Chicago Cubs 7-6 after storming back from a 6-1 hole, a tide swing indicative of the relative karma around these fanbases on the evening. If that holds, the Reds would be a full game back of New York (and potentially tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks if they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers later tonight).

Hunter Greene will go for Cincinnati tomorrow, which is a great thing. The problem is, though, that Paul Skenes will start for the Pirates as they look to steal a series so incredibly vital to the Reds. Whether or not Greene should have been moved up to face Pittsburgh tonight in a more ‘winnable’ game will be the obvious question, especially since it would have set him up to pitch in the season’s final regular season game (if need be), too.

As things stand after this game’s end, the Reds no longer control their own destiny, with the Mets now claiming that honor with five games remaining in the race for the playoffs.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/game-re...ncinnati-reds-pirates-playoffs-loss-standings

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Game 157: Reds vs. Pirates (6:40 PM ET) – Singer vs. Oviedo

The Cincinnati Reds are back in action in Great American Ball Park on Tuesday evening, continuing on their unlikely quest to actually sneak into the playoffs.

They currently sit in the catbird seat for the third and final National League Wild Card spot, tied with a New York Mets club in the standings over whom they hold a tiebreaker. That all becomes moot, of course, if they can’t keep up their winning ways, something they’ll attempt to begin against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday in the series opener.

Brady Singer will start for the Reds opposite Johan Oviedo, while Sal Stewart will begin the game on the bench (again) as Ke’Bryan Hayes returns to 3B to face his former club.

First pitch is set for 6:40 PM ET. Lineups below.

Go Reds!

Today’s Lineups​

Oneil Cruz – CF	TJ Friedl – CF
Jared Triolo – 3B	Noelvi Marte – RF
Bryan Reynolds – DH	Gavin Lux – DH
Spencer Horwitz – 1B	Spencer Steer – 1B
Nick Gonzales – SS	Elly De La Cruz – SS
Jack Suwinski – LF	Matt McLain – 2B
Nick Yorke – 2B	Will Benson – LF
Alexander Canario – RF	Jose Trevino – C
Rafael Flores – C	Ke’Bryan Hayes – 3B
Johan Oviedo – RHP	Brady Singer – RHP

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PIRATES​

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REDS​

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Source: https://www.redreporter.com/game-threads/48713/cincinnati-reds-pittsburgh-pirates-brady-singer

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

MLB will have Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System (ABS) in 2026

In the years since televised broadcasts of baseball games there has been constant pining for the ability to overturn poorly umpired ball/strike calls. Nothing’s worse than seeing a pitcher paint a corner perfectly only for an ump to call it a ball in a critical moment except, perhaps, watching a batter with a keen eye take a pitch that’s clearly out of the zone only to be called out on strikes.

Major League Baseball has listened, and chosen to fix that problem…somewhat.

Today MLB announced that there will be a complicated challenge system put in place for the 2026 season, the details of which are listed in the below tweet.

BREAKING: Major League Baseball will use the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System (ABS) during the entire 2026 season

ABS CHALLENGE RULES:

– Each team will get two challenges and can keep them if they're successful

– Challenges can only be initiated by a pitcher, catcher, or… pic.twitter.com/xHkRIbHrRx

— MLB (@MLB) September 23, 2025

Cool! Now there surely won’t be any problems making sure bad calls are overturned in big moments, right?

Right?!

Not exactly. Teams are limited to two challenges per game, though they can keep them if successful. The most important caveats, though, are that all challenges must be initiated immediately by the pitcher, catcher, or batter without the help of the dugout or other players, meaning players who feel wronged in the heat of the moment have all the challenge decisions to themselves.

So, if there’s a questionable zone early on and players choose to challenge calls, they damn well better be accurate in their own assessment of the zone lest they burn those challenges and render their teammates unable to challenge later in perhaps a bigger, more high-leverage spot. Teams will get an extra challenge in extra innings, however, but the limitations put in place by this are clearly designed to tip-toe the line between actually fixing the problem of bad calls and not bogging the game down (and slowing the pace of play) by granting players a greater number of challenge opportunities.

It’s a positive step, I’d opine. It doesn’t solve the problem of bad umpiring, but it’s a step. What will be interesting, though, is how quickly an umpire, batter, or pitcher getting egg on their face after a ill-fated challenge turns things into more of a quagmire, something that surely will happen at some juncture (read: immediately).

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/latest-...ated-ball-strike-challenge-system-abs-in-2026

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Game 158: Reds vs. Pirates (6:40 PM ET) – Greene vs. Skenes

The last time we watched Hunter Greene on the mound for the Cincinnati Reds, the world was treated to his greatness. Greene fired a complete game shutout against the rival Chicago Cubs, limiting them to just a lone hit and lone walk while striking out 9 on the day, good enough for a 93 game score that’s both the best of his career and 3rd best of any pitcher in baseball so far in 2025.

Only Sonny Gray’s 11 K complete game against the Cleveland Guardians on June 27th and Tarik Skubal’s 13 K complete game against the same Guardians on May 25th rank higher (96), though neither came in the season’s final two weeks when the playoff chase was down its final furlong.

Greene will start again for the Reds tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who motored past Brady Singer & Co. last night for a 4-2 victory that threw a serious wrench into Cincinnati’s postseason plans. Tonight will be no easier at all, either, as Cy Young frontrunner Paul Skenes will toe the rubber for the Pirates.

Skenes’ best game score so far in 2025 is merely an 80, though that’s in part due to Pittsburgh’s unwillingness to truly let him pitch deep into games. He’s pitched into the 8th inning only four times all year and topped 100 pitches only eight times – and only two of those have come after May 23rd as the Pirates do everything they can to protect their superstar while refusing to either extend him or surround him with capable sidekicks.

It’ll be a battle of aces, one that will be appointment viewing at 6:40 PM ET.

Lineups below. Go Reds!

Today’s Lineups​

Oneil Cruz – CF	TJ Friedl – CF
Jared Triolo – 3B	Noelvi Marte – RF
Bryan Reynolds – RF	Gavin Lux – DH
Spencer Horwitz – 1B	Spencer Steer – 1B
Andrew McCutchen – DH	Elly De La Cruz – SS
Tommy Pham – LF	Sal Stewart – 3B
Nick Gonzales – SS	Tyler Stephenson – C
Nick Yorke – 2B	Will Benson – LF
Henry Davis – C	Matt McLain – 2B
Paul Skenes – RHP	Hunter Greene – RHP

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PIRATES​

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REDS​

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Source: https://www.redreporter.com/game-threads/48734/hunter-greene-paul-skenes-cy-young-award

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Nobody wants the National League Wild Card

The Cincinnati Reds made the call to not get Hunter Greene two starts before the end of the regular season during their day-off on Monday, instead sticking with the planned rotation featuring Brady Singer in the series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

They did that while knowing that imminent Cy Young winner Paul Skenes was slated to start the second game of the series against Pittsburgh. It wasn’t karma that thumped Singer in the 2nd inning of his start as Cincinnati dropped a must-win in the series opener, it was more the sound of inevitability. And when Greene was a) predictably wonderful but b) not quite as predictably wonderful as Skenes last night, the Reds dropped their second straight game to the woeful Pirates while still somehow clinging to hopes of sneaking into the postseason anyway.

That’s because nobody, it seems, really wants the spot.

The Chicago Cubs, who the Reds just swept in a 4-game series over the weekend, are in. So, too, are the San Diego Padres, who took an L by the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday. The Reds are tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks – who lost yesterday, too – at 80-78, just a game back of the New York Mets who, as you probably already knew/guessed, lost to the Cubs last night, too.

No National League team hunting the playoffs via this route is truly peaking this time of year. If anything, they’re all rolling towards season’s end in reverse, with the speed at which they roll the only thing left to be determined.

I’m still hung up on Cincinnati’s decision to eschew getting Greene a pair of starts during the season’s final six games, the idea being that he’d be set up to start Game 1 of a postseason series they may not even make. I get it, the entire thing about not having actually won a postseason series in 30 years means making the playoffs this year and losing in the first round with Greene never actually being able to get a start because you pushed him in the regular season would go down in the annals of Reds Misery history. Still, starting him in a game no also started by Skenes would’ve given the Reds a lot better chance of being 1-1 through the first pair of games this series than 0-2, and there’s always the chance he wouldn’t have even had to pitch on the final day of the regular season if Cincinnati had taken better care of business in the five-game run-up to it.

The casual nature with which this franchise has approached this vital playoff push is, quite honestly, reminiscent of the same laissez faire attitude they had at the 2023 trade deadline. Hold tight, stick with your gut, and simply hope it works out. The only thing bailing them out as of Thursday, August 25th, is that the rest of the teams lumped in this Wild Card mess seem equally uninspiring.

None of these teams look like they’ll beat the Phillies. While the Brewers, on paper, always look kinda beatable, nobody has really beaten them at anything all year – all decade, really. And the Los Angeles Dodgers are the Los Angeles Dodgers, and they’re going to hit you with three to six future Hall of Famers on each and every night.

I don’t think anyone around these parts had delusions of World Series grandeur for the Reds in 2025, but simply taking care of business in strategic fashion to actually play a night game in October where the whole world watches seemed oh-so attainable – if they’d just get out of their own way and take it. They haven’t, so far, even though the Baseball Gods keep giving them chance after chance after chance.

So, they’re still in this mess, and will be again at 12:40 PM ET today against the Pirates. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll seize this particular opportunity.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/latest-...stephenson-national-league-standings-playoffs

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

Noelvi Marte robs homer in 9th as Reds hold on to beat Pirates

In the final inning of baseball in Great American Ball Park this regular season, Noelvi Marte turned in the play of the year for the Cincinnati Reds.

With an out in the Bottom of the 9th, Emilio Pagan served up a meatball to Pittsburgh Pirates right-fielder Bryan Reynolds, who promptly mashed it high and deep to the wall in right. Marte tracked it from the start, timed himself as if he’d been in the outfield his entire life, and jumped right up and robbed the dang thing.

It was a thing of complete beauty at the most opportune time. Sam Dykstra of MLB Pipeline helped relay the catch on Bluesky.

Noelvi Marte with about as clutch a game-saving (season-saving?) catch as you'll see in this postseason raceIf the Reds make the playoffs, they'll revisit this often in Cincinnati.

— Sam Dykstra (@samdykstramilb.bsky.social) 2025-09-25T20:19:49.368Z

Not resting on his laurels, Marte made a running catch for the game’s final out a few seconds later after Andrew McCutchen sent a laser down the line, and Cincinnati walked away with a much, much needed 2-1 victory.

Said win may well end up being marred somewhat by Nick Lodolo exiting with a right groin problem after being similarly brilliant himself, but a win is a win is a win right now as Cincinnati fights for its life in the National League Wild Card race.

This win brings the Reds to within a half game of the New York Mets, who are in action later this evening on the road in Wrigley against the Chicago Cubs.

What a way to wrap regular season baseball in the Queen City. Now, if they can just figure out a way to not fall completely apart against the Milwaukee Brewers…

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/game-recaps/48747/noelvi-marte-robs-home-run-reds-pirates

 

[Cincinnati Reds]

In Milwaukee the Cincinnati Reds fortunes lay

The Cincinnati Reds are in Milwaukee on Friday after wrapping their season slate of home games in Great American Ball Park with Thursday’s thrilling 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. They sit one game back of the New York Mets in the race for the final Wild Card spot in the National League playoff picture, though they do hold the tiebreaker over New York in the event the two teams finish tied in the standings.

Milwaukee long ago clinched both the NL Central division title and a spot in the postseason, and they’ve already matched their franchise record for regular season victories. Still, they’re one more win away from locking up the #1 seed in the NL playoff bracket (over Philadelphia), so they’ve got things to play for in terms of future home field advantage.

It’ll be quite the test for Cincinnati, as the Brewers have completely owned them since roughly when Alexander Hummerhielm and the Swedish army was defeated by Michael Serwacy Wisniowiecki and the Polish-Saxons at the Battle of Darsuniskis.

The Reds will turn to the trio of Zack Littell, Andrew Abbott, and Brady Singer to start this weekend, at least on paper. A lot can happen to rearrange that between now and Sunday, ranging from the Reds have been officially eliminated all the way up to the Reds have clinched by Saturday, and either extreme scenario would prompt manager Terry Francona to make changes to that. There’s also Nick Martinez potentially in play, Hunter Greene going on short rest for a spurt, and the up-in-the-air status of Nick Lodolo’s prized groin to factor into this equation.

So, the pitching is set unless it isn’t. It’s a fluid situation.

While the Reds take on the Beers up north beginning at 8:10 PM ET tonight, the Mets will take on the Miami Marlins down south for their final series of the year. The Marlins, to their credit, have a winning record in the season’s second half – and a much better record than the Mets in that time. They’ll be rolling out former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez, and Edward Cabrera as their starters in the series, too, and that trio’s talent is pretty damn formidable.

The Reds will need to win one more game than the Mets between now and Sunday evening. That’s what being one game back in the standings means, after all. Otherwise the Reds, despite all our scoreboard watching and all the words I have spilled this week about watching seven baseball games a day, will miss the playoffs altogether.

I should probably add that the Arizona Diamondbacks aren’t technically done yet, either. They’re two games back of the Mets and one game back of Cincinnati (because math) and there’s still a chance they sneak into the final Wild Card spot if Cincinnati and New York both fold up and evaporate completely this weekend. Arizona is on the road against the San Diego Padres, who could (in theory) still catch the Chicago Cubs for the top overall Wild Card spot if they win out and the Cubs lose two over the weekend, too.

That’s a long way of saying that there’s still a whole lot to play for this weekend across the National League, but simply writing there’s still a whole lot to play for this weekend across the National League and hitting publish probably wouldn’t get this article picked up by Apple News, the Googles, or even Yahoo Sports, and that’d be a problem.

Anyway, go Reds. Do the thing. Get the luck. Be the ball, Danny.

Be the ball.

Source: https://www.redreporter.com/game-pr...ndings-cincinnati-reds-wild-card-brewers-mets