PHILADELPHIA − For a moment, the month of May didn’t seem so bad for the Cincinnati Reds.
Playing at Citizens Bank Park, a venue that has historically haunted the Reds, and against a Philadelphia Phillies team that was arguably the hottest club in baseball entering the series, Cincinnati stabilized its rocky month with a head-turning series win.
In the May 20 series-clincher, the Reds (26-24) smacked Phillies pitching around, collecting 15 hits in an eventual 9-4 victory. Against the grain of a 5-13 month entering the game, Cincinnati claimed its second series victory in May. It was also Cincinnati’s fifth-ever series win in 22 seasons of visiting Citizens Bank Park.
“It’s tough to win in this place. I think we’ve played well every time we’ve come here (but) I don’t know if we’ve come out on top,” Reds starting pitcher Andrew Abbott said. “I think what shows a lot about the team is we’re still in the games. We know what we need to do to win. We have the confidence of our manager. We have the confidence of every guy in here, whether they’re up from Triple-A or whether they’re established. I think everyone just feeds off of that.
“We know we’re a good team. We saw what we did the first month or so of the season. There’s no reason we can’t go do it again. I know we’ve been scuffling but that’s not an excuse to not show up and not be ready to play.”
In the end, it could be argued the Reds were four outs shy of sweeping the Phillies (25-25). A go-ahead, two-out, eighth inning home run by Bryson Stott on May 18 prevented Cincinnati from winning the series opener.
The Reds bounced back with two convincing wins, taking advantage of favorable starting pitching matchups, and getting contributions from seemingly every spot in the lineup.
“It’s definitely a good feeling, taking the series and almost sweeping,” Reds backup catcher PJ Higgins said. “I think the main thing is to continue playing good baseball, playing together moving forward, and I think we’ll get more wins because of it… It’s definitely good to have this and it’s good to win, like I said, and continue the momentum.”
The nine-hole hitter, Higgins started the game with two rally-extending RBI singles. The Reds’ Nos. 8 and 9 hitters accounted for four RBIs in the finale.
Abbott (4-2, 3.97 ERA) fell behind 1-0 in the first inning via an unearned run but didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning. He later exited after 5 ⅓ innings with a 5-2 lead. On a day with a game time temperature of 95 degrees, Abbott tossed 96 pitches (64 strikes) and allowed just three hits with three walks against three strikeouts.
“Abbott didn’t look real sharp with his command early but he stayed out there on a hot day, threw almost 100 pitches,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “Gave us a good chance to win.”
Abbott continued his outstanding run. In four May starts, Abbott is 3-0 with an 0.82 ERA. Over his last six starts, he’s lowered his season ERA from 6.59 to 3.97. He hasn’t lost a game since eight starts ago.
Cincinnati’s bats were unrelenting and punched back when the Phillies cut their deficit to one run after Abbott’s departure.
Facing the closest thing to a slump he’d seen in his young MLB career, Sal Stewart polished off a strong overall series by going 4-for-5 with three runs scored. Five other Reds − JJ Bleday, Spencer Steer, Nathaniel Lowe, Blake Dunn and Higgins − also notched multi-hit games.
For the series, Stewart had seven hits, five runs scored and two home runs.
In the seventh inning, Lowe doubled off the wall in center field and widened Cincinnati’s advantage after Philadelphia homered its way back to within a run in the bottom of the sixth.
A two-run home run in the ninth inning by Stewart made it 9-4. Stewart crushed high-leverage Philadelphia reliever Jose Alvarado’s 90 mph cutter, driving it 441 feet and into the upper deck in left field.
Cincinnati roughed up Alvarado in both of his appearances in the series, posting three runs against the fireballer.
No Schwarber for Phillies? No problem for Reds
You might have noticed that Kyle Schwarber, the Middletown native the Reds pursued this offseason and tried to bring home, was largely absent from the conversation of the Reds-Phillies series. There was good reason for that: Schwarber missed all three games due to what Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said was a stomach issue.
Schwarber was available to pinch hit, Mattingly said pregame. Schwarber even donned a batting helmet in the dugout late in the May 20 game, but he didn’t have a plate appearance.
“They had their best hitter out, which I’m very thankful for,” Francona said. “Believe me, that eighth and ninth inning, I knew where (Schwarber) was every minute.”
However fond of Schwarber the Reds might have been this past offseason when they attempted to sign the slugger in free agency, the club surely didn’t mind his absence this week. Even after not appearing in the series versus Cincinnati, Schwarber’s 20 home runs were still the most in MLB entering play May 20.
Chicago White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami’s 17 homers made him second in the home run race. Speaking strictly for the National League, Matt Olson’s 14 home runs for the Atlanta Braves were second-most in the NL.
Even without Schwarber, the Phillies still found enough power to be a nuisance against Cincinnati pitching. Alec Bohm went deep twice in the series, and Edmundo Sosa, Bryson Stott and Trea Turner all contributed one homer apiece.
Next up for the Reds: Another shot at an NL Central rival
Much of Cincinnati’s struggles in May centered around an 0-7 road trip to begin the month. The Reds were swept in Pittsburgh, and then swept in four games by the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
That road trip brought the Reds to 1-9 against NL Central opponents in 2026, with their first and only divisional win occurring March 30 against the Pirates.
Cincinnati gets another shot at improving in divisional play May 22-24 when it returns to Great American Ball Park for three games against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals were 28-20 entering their series finale against Pittsburgh May 21, and they’ve been especially potent on the road to the tune of a 15-8 mark.
The Reds will open the series May 22 (6:40 p.m.) with newly acquired starting pitcher Chris Paddack, who will face the Cardinals’ Kyle Leahy (5-3, 3.94 ERA). The start is scheduled to be Paddack’s second for Cincinnati after allowing two runs and six hits (no decision) in an eventual May 16 Reds loss to the Cleveland Guardians. For the year, Paddack is 0-5 with a 7.07 ERA after beginning the season with the Miami Marlins.
The Saturday, May 23, game against St. Louis is a nationally broadcast affair scheduled to go off at 7:15 p.m. (FOX). The Reds’ Brady Singer (2-4, 6.26 ERA) will start against the Cardinals’ Andre Pallante (4.04 ERA).
The series finale on May 24 (1:40 p.m.) will see Nick Lodolo (0-1, 7.20 ERA) take the ball for the hosts while St. Louis hadn’t announced its starter for the game as of May 20.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds rake in Philly, take series from Phillies
Reporting by Pat Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
