The Cincinnati Reds opened September four games out of the final wild-card berth in the National League. On Sunday, their September ride to the postseason will be complete if they defeat the host Milwaukee Brewers in the regular-season finale.
Brady Singer will pitch for Cincinnati (83-78), which is tied for the final wild-card spot with the New York Mets, who close out the season at Miami.
The math is simple. If the Reds win, they are in the postseason. If they lose and the Mets win, New York moves on. If they both lose, or if they both win, the Reds will earn the wild card since they hold the tiebreaker over the Mets by virtue of winning the season series.
The Reds put themselves in position for their first postseason appearance since 2020 with a 7-4 victory over the Brewers on Saturday night.
Cincinnati used four hits, two errors and two walks to post six runs in the third inning. Starter Andrew Abbott allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings to get the win.
“We kind of earned the right to embrace what’s going on here, and they’re doing a good job,” Reds manager Terry Francona said.
“It’s exciting. Don’t run from it. I know sleep this time of year is not great anyway, but we’ll be ready to go.”
The Reds have won three straight games and eight of the past 10.
Before winning the first two games of this series, the Reds had lost 13 consecutive series to the Brewers.
“You’ve got to credit the Reds pitching,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “The Reds’ pitching (has been) outstanding, this is one of the hot teams in baseball right now. … They beat the Cubs four straight and they didn’t score many runs.
“This is a good-pitching team and they’re in their best mode and they’re playing for survival.”
Milwaukee (96-65), which won the National League Central, clinched the No. 1 overall seed and home-field advantage throughout the postseason after Philadelphia (95-66) dropped a 5-0 decision to the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
With a victory on Sunday, the Brewers would set a franchise record for most wins in a season.
Singer (14-11, 3.95 ERA) will be opposed by fellow right-hander Freddy Peralta (17-6, 2.68), who leads the National League in victories.
Singer is 2-2 with a 3.13 ERA in four starts this month. He took the loss his last time out, giving up four runs — all in the second inning — in 5 1/3 frames in a 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday.
Singer is 2-1 in three career starts vs. Milwaukee. He split a pair of decision this season against the Brewers, allowing eight runs (six earned) in 10 innings.
With the Brewers having clinched the top seed, Peralta is expected to have a short outing.
Peralta is 5-1 with a 1.65 ERA over his past nine starts. In his most recent start on Monday, Peralta allowed two runs in five innings but did not get the decision in a 5-4 loss at San Diego.
Peralta is 5-4 with a 3.43 ERA in 21 games (15 starts) in his career vs. Cincinnati. He faced the Reds once this season, allowing three runs in six innings in a 4-2 loss in June.
Murphy said there is a chance that injured relievers Trevor Megill and DL Hall could be activated and pitch Sunday. Megill, who has a team-high 30 saves, has been out since Aug. 25 with a right flexor strain.
–Field Level Media
