PHOENIX – The hottest race in the National League just got a little bit hotter again.
And only partly because the Cincinnati Reds are in 110-degree Phoenix for a weekend series.
When the New York Mets lost Thursday for the second straight day against the Washington Nationals, the idle Reds moved to just a half-game behind the Mets for the final position in the National League wild-card playoff race, with 34 games left.
Advertisement
A Reds win and Mets loss on Aug. 22 would put the Reds in sole possession of a playoff position for the first time since they were 16-13 on April 28 – the first time owning even a share of playoff position since April 29.
Elly De La Cruz slides into second base against the Mets in New York last month.
“I’m not worried about anybody but our team,” Reds catcher Jose Trevino said on the way out of Anaheim after the Reds took two out of three from the Angels this week. “We’re in a tight race. Do whatever we can to win a game, whether another team wins or another team loses it doesn’t matter.”
The Reds, who had the toughest remaining schedule in the league coming out of the All-Star break, haven’t lit the world on fire since then, going 17-14 (including two of three from the Mets in New York last month).
Advertisement
But it’s been enough to make up four games on the tail-spinning Mets in that span.
The Reds have won three of their last four heading into the weekend series against the Diamondbacks in Phoenix.
The Mets have lost 16 of 21.
Adding intrigue to the tightest race in the league is the fact these non-division rivals have a three-game series left, in Cincinnati Sept. 5-7.
The Reds have the second-toughest schedule left in MLB based on opponents’ winning percentage; the Mets, the ninth toughest.
The Reds’ remaining schedule (teams currently in playoff position in bold-face):
Aug. 22-24 — at Arizona Diamondbacks (3)
Aug. 25-27 — at Los Angeles Dodgers (3)
Aug. 29-31 — vs. St. Louis Cardinals (3)
Sept. 1-3 — vs. Toronto Blue Jays (3)
Sept. 5-7 — vs. New York Mets (3)
Sept. 8-10 — at San Diego Padres (3)
Sept. 12-14 — at Sacramento Athletics (3)
Sept. 15-17 — at St. Louis Cardinals (3)
Sept. 18-21 — vs. Chicago Cubs (4)
Sept. 23-25 — vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (3)
Sept. 26-28 — at Milwaukee Brewers (3)
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mets lose! Cincinnati Reds now half-game back of playoff spot