Reds closer Emilio Pagán discusses 32nd save, MLB playoff race
Reds closer Emilio Pagán discusses 32nd save, MLB playoff race
MILWAUKEE – It’s been a good weekend in Milwaukee for the Cincinnati Reds, but is hasn’t been nearly good enough. Not yet and not in these circumstances.
The Reds ended a years-long, 13-series losing streak against the Milwaukee Brewers by taking the Sept. 27 matchup between the clubs, 7-4, at a sold-out American Family Field. Winning the first two games of the series constituted Cincinnati’s first series win against the Brewers since August 2022.
Few will care about the series win if it doesn’t end with the Reds getting to the postseason, which will be decided in game No. 162 on Sept. 28.
Win that one, and the Reds will earn the National League’s third and final wild card spot. Cincinnati remained tied with the New York Mets on identical 83-78 records when both teams were victorious Sept. 27. But the Reds hold the tiebreaker over the Mets, so if the clubs are still tied when play concludes Sunday, Cincinnati is going back to the postseason for the first time in a 162-game season for the first time since 2013.
The pressure was on Cincinnati all night in Milwaukee because the Mets’ 5-0 victory against the Miami Marlins went final before the game started at American Family Field. A Reds loss would have complicated the final day of the regular season significantly for the Reds, but they survived.
Reds rookie Sal Stewart talks big game, win over Brewers and NL playoffs
Cincinnati Reds rookie Sal Stewart hit his fifth home run since debuting on Sept. 1 as the Reds beat the Brewers 7-4 Saturday.
“I think (we’re) doing just fine. They’re playing baseball. They’re baseball players,” Reds manager Terry Francona of the recent high-pressure games. “If you look at it like that, and l think I said it last week, we’ve kind of earned the right to embrace what’s going on here and they’re doing a good job of it.”
The bats showed up in the third inning for Cincinnati as they plated six runs. Rookie Sal Stewart opened the scoring with an RBI single. After the Reds loaded the bases with two outs, Ke’Bryan Hayes drove a run in with an infield single, Matt McLain plated another run via a walk, and three runs would ultimately score when T.J. Friedl cleared the bases with a double.
Five of the runs were unearned but the Reds didn’t care.
Later, Stewart drove in another run via a solo home run to right field.
Reds starting pitcher Andrew Abbott (10-7) allowed three runs on five hits. The Brewers didn’t go quietly but were ultimately undone by the six-run third inning posted by the visitors.
Cincinnati reliever Nick Martinez (two innings, one hit) did the heavy lifting out of the bullpen on a night when Connor Phillips and Graham Ashcraft didn’t appear to be quite as sharp as in recent games.
Emilio Pagán, an All-Star-consideration-worthy workhorse for the Reds in 2025, notched his 32nd save in 38 attempts. The appearance was his fourth in as many games. Pagán didn’t want to rule out pitching in the season finale but said he needed to see how his right arm felt in the morning.
“Whenever the season does end, hopefully a month-and-a-half from now, it’s (the arm) not gonna feel great for a couple days,” Pagán said. “But that’s what you sign up for, for these opportunities and moments like this. If I can throw it over the plate then I’m gonna try my hardest to get in there.”
For the season finale that will determine the fate of the entire 2025 campaign, the Reds will send Brady Singer (14-11, 3.95 ERA) out to start against the Brewers’ Freddy Peralta (17-6, 2.68 ERA).
The game will likely be close to an all-hands-on-deck affair for Cincinnati, and making starters Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene available in relief has been discussed, Francona said during interviews over the course of the series.
Games across MLB will essentially be played simultaneously on Sept. 28 with all the games scheduled to begin within minutes of each other. The Reds and Brewers are scheduled to start at 3:10 p.m. ET.
“It’s exciting,” Francona said. “God, don’t run from it… We’ll be ready to go.”
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Live updates from throughout the game:
MILWAUKEE − Welcome to Cincinnati.com’s live coverage of the Cincinnati Reds versus the Milwaukee Brewers (7:15 p.m. ET). The Reds enter play in control of their own playoff destiny in the race for the third and final National League wild card berth. Refresh this page throughout the game for live updates from American Family Field.
Cincinnati hangs on to win, 7-4. The entire 2025 season will come down to the final day for the Mets and Reds in their race for the final National League playoff spot. Win and Cincinnati is in − no help required.
Connor Phillips and Graham Ashcraft didn’t appear to be at their sharpest, but that was fine because Nick Martinez was in fine form. He tossed two scoreless innings out of the bullpen and will hand the Reds’ 7-4 lead off to Emilio Pagán for the ninth inning.
The Mets are a half-game game ahead of the Reds as things stand now (Cincinnati is leading Milwaukee, 7-4, in the seventh inning). The clubs would be back into a tie if the Reds hang on. Cincinnati owns the tiebreaker over the Mets and therefore control their own destiny. As things stand now, Cincinnati will make the playoffs if they win tonight and tomorrow against the Brewers.
Andrew Abbott gave up a solo home run to Jackson Chourio that cut the Reds’ lead to 7-3. He record a final out and departed after five and 1/3 innings of work. He allowed three runs on five hits. Connor Phillips is on for the Reds in relief.
The Reds padded their lead via a two-out solo shot by rookie Sal Stewart, who mashed the ball into the Cincinnati bullpen in right field for a 7-2 lead. The homer was Stewart’s fifth since being called up Sept. 1.
Stewart is playing first base tonight. That pushed the Reds’ regular first baseman, Spencer Steer, into left field.
Stewart has two RBI’s in the game.
The Minnesota Twins knocked off the Philadelphia Phillies, which has some relevance to Cincinnati. The Phillies loss means the Brewers have clinched the No. 1 seed in the National League playoffs. The Phillies are locked in as the No. 2 seed.
So, maybe the Brewers are a little less interested in the outcomes of their final two games against the Reds this series. Don’t expect them to roll over, but Milwaukee has wrapped up everything it needed to heading into the playoffs.
Milwaukee got two runs right back. They started the inning with the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters getting to third and second base with no outs, and both players eventually came around to score. It’s 6-2, Reds still leading with a long way to go.
The Reds needed a big inning and they got one, batting around and plating six runs in the top of the third. The big blow came on a two-out T.J. Friedl single with the bases loaded. Three runs ultimately scored − two in the normal fashion when the runners in scoring position crossed and then Matt McLain scored when the throw from the outfield rolled through the infield and to the backstop.
Prior to that, McLain walked in a run with the bases loaded for 3-0. Prior to that, Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a dribbler for an infield single to make it 2-0.
Sal Stewart got the scoring started with an RBI single.
In the top of the second inning, Elly De La Cruz reached on a single and ended up at third base with one out. On a Matt McLain grounder to third base, De La Cruz was tagged out at home as he slid headfirst. The game is tied heading to the bottom of the second inning.
The New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins on Sept. 27. The 5-0 victory went final before the Reds took the field in Milwaukee. That meant the Reds couldn’t clinch Sept. 27, and the playoff race will go down to the final day of the MLB regular season on Sept. 28. Cincinnati needs to win again to avoid falling a game behind the Mets in the standings, which would force the Reds into a must-win scenario Sept. 28 that also required a New York loss in order to reach the postseason.
A win in Milwaukee would mean Cincinnati is still in control, but the pressure is back on the Reds.
Follow along to see if the Cincinnati Reds can stay in control of their own playoff destiny against the Milwaukee Brewers with two games remaining in the 2025 MLB season. The Reds won Friday night to regain control of the NL Wild Card race, but the Mets are leading the Marlins. Follow along to see how tonight unfolds.
Reds-Brewers pitching matchup
The Cincinnati Reds are sending All-Star starter Andrew Abbott (9-7, 2.80 ERA) out to face Milwaukee’s Robert Gasser, who is making his second start of 2025.