MILWAUKEE — The Cincinnati Reds have put themselves in position to earn their first playoff berth since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season while keeping the free-spending New York Mets out of the postseason.
Cincinnati's 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers and New York's 6-2 loss to the Miami Marlins on Friday enabled the Reds to tie the Mets for the National League's third and final wild-card playoff berth. The Reds own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Mets, whose $322.6 million payroll at the start of the season led all MLB teams.
The Arizona Diamondbacks were eliminated from contention for that final wild-card berth with their 7-4 loss to the San Diego Padres.
«Obviously, I think we can start to feel it a little bit, but at the same time, we've got to take care of business,» Cincinnati left fielder Gavin Lux said. «We're not there yet still. We've just got to keep trying to win every pitch and take it game by game. We all know how fast things can change.»
Cincinnati hasn't been more than seven games above .500 at any point this season and has gone just 15-18 over its past 33 games. Yet, the Reds have still played well enough to catch the Mets, who have lost 16 of their past 25 games.
The Mets were 45-24 and had the best record in the majors June 12, but they've gone 37-54 since.
«We've put ourselves in this position,» Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters after their Friday night loss in Miami. «Here we are. We've got to come back tomorrow and the next day now. We've got to win the next two and see what happens.»
The Reds (82-78) are seeking to make the playoffs in a non-pandemic season for the first time since 2013. They haven't won a postseason game since 2012 and haven't won a playoff series since 1995.
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