On a roll. In contention. Playing meaningful baseball. However you want to say it, that’s the Cincinnati Reds right now.
Cincinnati’s deficit in the division, which swelled to 10 games not long ago, was down to 6.5 games entering Friday, June 20, and the National League wild card spots were within touching distance. That competitive position was achieved largely from the Reds’ success during the last several weeks, fueled by winning 9 of 11 games before Thursday’s loss to the Twins.
Now, the Reds need to keep it rolling against a National League Central opponent, the St. Louis Cardinals, and success in the division hasn’t come easy in 2025.
The Reds dropped their series finale against the Minnesota Twins, 12-5, on Thursday, June 19 at Great American Ball Park. They missed out on a sweep when the Twins knocked starting pitcher Nick Martinez out of the game after just 2 2/3 innings and having allowed seven earned runs.
Thursday was a rare blight on Cincinnati’s recent record. The Twins series was the fourth consecutive series victory for the Reds. Cincinnati has still won 9 of 12 games and was three games above .500 heading to St. Louis.
“We’re playing really great baseball,” Martinez said. “Ten hits (Thursday). Five runs. It’s a game that you should win and I didn’t help in any manner of that but… we’re winning games and we’re playing really good baseball. Everyone is invested.
“We’re still walking out of here with a series win against a team that expects to be in the playoffs, so we’re playing some good baseball.”
Some might say it’s too early to worry about the playoffs, but it’s not too early to be concerned about setting yourself up for contending. That’s what the Reds are doing here and now in mid-June.
But here comes the NL Central again. Up next for Cincinnati: A three-game road set at the St. Louis Cardinals’ Busch Stadium set to begin Friday.
Divisional play has generally spelled doom for Cincinnati’s relative hot streaks and pushes toward contender status as the Reds have so far lost six of seven series to NL Central foes in 2025.
That equates to a 10-13 record against its divisional rivals. Cincinnati’s only winning record within the division is against the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates (4-2), and the problem with that is the 4-2 mark is buoyed by a three-game sweep that occurred April 11-13 − more than two months ago.
“I think we’re playing our best baseball right now,” Gavin Lux said. “Cardinals are good so I think just going in there and trying to go in and ride the momentum we have right now. This is what we’re capable of and I think it’s what we’re capable of, so we’ve just got to keep rolling like that.”
In their only meeting so far in 2025, the Reds managed to scrape together a split of four games over April and May at Great American Ball Park in a series marred by rain.
Cincinnati was one game behind St. Louis in the NL Central and wild card standings when play started Friday.
The Reds (39-36) entered Friday 1 1/2 games out of the third wild card spot held by the San Diego Padres (40-34). The Milwaukee Brewers (40-35) and Cardinals (40-35) were one half game behind the Padres. The Arizona Diamondbacks were 1 1/2 games behind the Reds.
The St. Louis series also represents a relative soft spot in the upcoming schedule as Cincinnati has the AL East-leading New York Yankees and the NL West-hopeful San Diego Padres coming to Great American Ball Park next week. That’s followed by an east coast swing through Boston and Philadelphia.
Still, there’s no downplaying the significance of play within the division as the wild card race is shaping up to include three teams in the NL Central. As it has been in each of year of the expanded playoff format, that third NL wild card spot looks like an attainable path to the postseason for many teams.
As the Reds look to overtake the Cardinals, they were scheduled to send out starting pitchers Brady Singer (7-4, 4.34 ERA), Wade Miley (1-0, 6.75 ERA) and NL All-Star candidate Andrew Abbott (6-1, 1.84 ERA) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
The Cardinals were tentatively set to start right-hander Andre Pallante, who is 4-3 with a 4.83 ERA, on Friday.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds look to continue upswing against St. Louis Cardinals.
Reporting by Pat Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
