PHILADELPHIA − The month of May doesn’t seem so bad for the Cincinnati Reds for the moment.
Playing at Citizens Bank Park, a venue that has traditionally been inhospitable to the Reds, and against a Philadelphia Phillies team that was arguably the hottest club in baseball entering the series, Cincinnati stabilized a rocky month with a series win.
The Reds smacked Phillies pitching around in the May 20 series finale, collecting 15 hits and winning 9-4.
Cincinnati starting pitcher Andrew Abbott didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning, and exited after 5 ⅓ innings with a 5-2 lead. The Phillies cut the lead down to a lone run later that inning against reliever Brock Burke, but Cincinnati’s bats kept hacking away and providing insurance.
Two runs in the seventh for a 7-4 lead gave the Reds some breathing room, and a Sal Stewart two-run home run in the ninth inning made it 9-4.
Stewart went 4-for-5 with three runs scored. Five other Reds had multi-hit games, including Nathaniel Lowe (2-for-5, three RBIs). Lowe’s deep drive off the wall in center field restored a multi-run advantage for the Reds in the seventh inning after Philadelphia homered its way back to within a run.
It was just the second series victory of May for the Reds, but the timing was welcome. After starting the season 9-19, resulting in the firing of now-former manager Rob Thomson, the Phillies had surged in May, making them formidable on paper.
In the end, the Reds were four outs shy of sweeping the Phillies. An eighth inning home run in the May 18 series opener was Philadelphia’s lone victory in the set.
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.
However fond the Reds might have been of Schwarber this past offseason when they attempted to sign the slugger in free agency, the club surely didn’t mind his absence. Even after not appearing in the series versus Cincinnati, Schwarber’s 20 home runs were still the most in MLB, with Chicago White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami’s 17 the next-closest in the home run race.
Matt Olson’s 14 home runs for the Atlanta Braves were second-most in the National League.
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 center around an 0-7 road trip to begin the month. The Reds were swept in Pittsburgh, and then swept in our 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 win to-date 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 28-19 entering play May 20, 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 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) start. 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
