There it is, that word again.
Miracle.
Fresh off being swept at the hands of the citiless A’s, the Cincinnati Reds are beyond having their backs up against the wall in the race to make the National League playoffs. They are firmly in a position where they need an absolute miracle for that to happen.
Advertisement
They’re 2.5 games back of a New York Mets club that already gave them an 8-game losing streak on which to build momentum (which the Reds did not seize). They’re now behind both the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks in the jockeying Wild Card spots, closer in the standings to the St. Louis Cardinal (who are a meager 73-77) than they are to a team in a current playoff position.
The Reds are under .500, and yet we’re still trying to find relevance here with 13 games remaining. And, of course, they’re about to face their nemesis – those very Cardinals – on the road in St. Louis when the home team in the series has the chance to spoil absolutely every last inch of hope the Reds still have.
St. Louis even activated Nolan Arenado just in time for the series opener on Monday night, too.
Cincinnati will be sending Zack Littell to the mound again, while the Cardinals will counter with Matthew Liberatore. That’s a lefty on the bump for the Cardinals, something that’s haunted the Cincinnati offense for years now, though the hope is that Sal Stewart (who’s in the lineup at 3B) can help mitigate that problem going forward.
Advertisement
Also, manager Terry Francona finally, mercifully dropped Elly De La Cruz in the batting order after he’d struggled terribly for the better part of three months. Elly’s hitting 7th tonight, while Miguel Andujar will bat 3rd and DH.
First pitch in St. Louis is set for 7:45 PM ET in what may well end up the final relevant game of Cincinnati’s season should it once again not go their way.