13 days ago, the Cincinnati Reds woke up with a 20-26 record and a 17.1% chance of reaching the postseason.
Tonight, the Reds beat the Minnesota Twins to reach the postseason. The Reds have won 10 of their last 12 games with their backs against the wall.
he Reds took an early lead for a fourth consecutive game. Unfortunately, that has resulted in just a 2-2 record. Tejay Antone could not get an out in the fourth inning, and the Reds top relievers in 2020, Lucas Sims and Amir Garrett combined to give up 5 runs and 3 home runs.
It started out so well. The Reds jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Meanwhile, the Marlins were down 6-3 in the 8th inning. Those two scores hold, the Reds are somehow, someway back within 1.5 games of playoff spot.
But it's 2020.
The Marlins rallied to win 7-6. Sonny Gray cruised through the first three innings, but then the rain fell and it fell hard in the 4th inning. Gray walked two batters as it appeared he could not get a good grip on the baseball. The Cubs ended up scoring 5 runs in the 4th inning with a grand total of one ball leaving the infield.
Mike Moustakas' three-run homer in the first inning off Yu Darvish felt like it was worth 25 runs. The Reds entered play having failed to score a run in 15 consecutive innings, and they had backed themselves into what was a must win game tonight. The three runs Moustakas drove in would prove to be more than enough for Trevor Bauer. He took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, and dominated the Cubs over 7.2 innings.