MILWAUKEE – To get back in the driver’s seat of the playoff race, the Reds needed some added gas. What better than to have plenty of relievers capable of throwing it?
Aided by another 4 1/3 scoreless innings from their bullpen, the Reds are on the cusp of reaching the postseason. A 3-1 victory over the Brewers on Friday at American Family Field came shortly after the Mets were handed a loss by the Marlins in Miami. That put Cincinnati (82-78) and New York (82-78) into a tie for the third National League Wild Card spot with two games remaining.
“Huge,” catcher Tyler Stephenson said of the bullpen. “Theyâ€re the reason weâ€re here. Just having those guys who can go multiple innings is huge this late in the year. Every single one of those guys wants the ball right now. Theyâ€re ready.â€
The Reds, who hold the tiebreaker advantage, can clinch the playoff berth on Saturday with the combo of one win and another Mets loss. Therefore, the work is far from finished.
Reds starter Zack Littell pitched well over 4 2/3 innings with one run and three hits allowed but had to navigate some traffic in each inning. Manager Terry Francona turned to the bullpen after Jackson Chourio reached on a De La Cruz fielding error with one out in the fifth.
“If I managed with my heart, I would have left him in. I just donâ€t think this is the right time to do that,” Francona said.
Especially with the way Reds relievers are dealing right now, the decision was a no-brainer. In 11 games since Sept. 15, Cincinnati’s bullpen has a Major League best 0.94 ERA.
First in was Connor Phillips, who took over and struck out Brice Turang with a 98 mph fastball to end the inning, as he worked 1 1/3 innings with three strikeouts.
“We have nine options down there. Everybody is ready to go and theyâ€re all sick. Theyâ€re all really, really good options,” Phillips said. “I think itâ€s really a ‘next guy’ mentality. Get it as clean as possible to the next guy and just keep it rolling.â€
Phillips, who moved to 5-0 with a 2.66 ERA in 19 appearances and has stranded all 10 of his inherited runners, has pitched 10 scoreless and hitless innings over his last eight appearances. A former starter who spent all of 2024 struggling in the Minors, he returned to the big leagues for the second time this season on Aug. 18.
“Connor Phillips has been a gamechanger for us,” Francona said. “Weâ€re dying for our young guys to do good. But then to see it right in the middle of a pennant race, thatâ€s exciting. Kind of gets your heart pumping a little bit.â€
Graham Ashcraft had a clean seventh inning with one strikeout and Tony Santillan did likewise in the eighth inning. Emilio Pagán took care of the ninth inning for his 31st save.
Both Santillan and Pagán were working for a third straight day.
“We all kind of pull for each other,” said Santillan, who leads the NL with 80 appearances. “When one guy has a good inning, the other guy wants to follow it up with a better one – if not match it. Weâ€ve got a bunch of psychos. Everybody is always ready to take the ball, it doesnâ€t matter who it is.â€
Helping the bullpen turn the corner down the stretch was the addition of not only Phillips, but also moving starters Nick Martinez and Chase Burns into relief roles.
“Itâ€s deeper,” Francona said. “So itâ€s not just them getting outs, but itâ€s times when other guys donâ€t have to pitch. Tony and Pagán have pitched a ton, but itâ€s taken a little bit of the load off. Getting them healthy and feeling good, theyâ€re good pitchers.â€
It was a 1-1 game in the top of the sixth inning when Gavin Lux led off with a double to left field and went to third base on Jake Bauers’ fielding error. Miguel Andujar’s RBI single scored Lux with the go-ahead run. A fortunate bounce followed when Elly De La Cruz’s grounder up the middle skipped off second base and went for a single that put runners on the corners.
A one-out sacrifice fly by Stephenson scored Andujar for a two-run Reds lead. If the Reds – who have dropped 13 straight series to the Brewers – don’t clinch Saturday, they can still get into October if they simply hold serve with the Mets the next two days.
“Be ready to play tomorrow and see what happens and then worry about Sunday,” Stephenson said. “Canâ€t look too far ahead. Thereâ€s a lot of emotions, itâ€s exciting times. But we have to go out and take care of business and play like we did tonight.”
Discover more from 6up.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.