The Cincinnati Reds have life. With a win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, the club is riding a four-game win streak and has moved into a tie with the Cardinals for second in the NL Central.
1.) Bullpen Day Holds Up
Bullpen days have a bit of a bad rap because they use up a number of bullpen arms on a day that could have been started by an actual starter. This time around, the Reds used six pitchers and were able to provide more than enough run support.
Emilio Pagan got the start and gave the Reds two innings and surrendered a pair of hits but no runs. Sam Moll , who got the win, pitched the third inning and struck out two in a one-two-three innings.
Carson Spiers , who usually comes in and eats innings on bullpen days, threw 2 2/3 and allowed both Cardinals runs off six hits. Justin Wilson came in and allowed one hit but kept the Cardinals off the board.
Buck Farmer tossed an eight-pitch seventh in which he sat the Cardinals down in order. Finally, Fernando Cruz allowed a hit and a walk but slammed the door.
2.) Taking Advantage of Great American "Small" Park
The Reds collected 13 hits and walked twice en route to an impressive nine-run performance. Those 13 hits came from eight of the Reds' nine starters.
Jonathan India came into the game 0-for-22 and added to it with a first-inning flyout. Then, he opened the scoring with a three-run home run to left center. In his next at-bat, India found the seats again, this time with a 416-foot no-doubter. To make it even sweeter, he reached on a single in the sixth.
Birthday boy, TJ Friedl , had himself a massive 29th birthday. The Reds' cleanup hitter became the first Red since Joey Votto to hit a home run on his birthday with his 400-foot round-tripper in the fifth. Then, in the seventh, he became the first Red to hit two on his birthday since Barry Larkin . Oddly enough, those two are the only two times it has happened in franchise history.
At the bottom of the lineup, Noelvi Marte snapped an 0-for-10 slump and collected his third multi-hit game since August 5. In that time, he's batting .243/.243/.244. Marte is getting back to the batter the Reds know him to be and he's taking a step in the field as well.
Since he returned from Paternity Leave, Tyler Stephenson has been on fire. On Wednesday, he added another home run to his tally. In 35 games (32 starts) since welcoming his daughter to the world, Stephenson has hit 10 home runs and is slashing .250/.233/.563.
Elly De La Cruz added one RBI double while Spencer Steer and Will Benson added a hit and a walk each.
The Reds outhit the Cardinals 25-15 in the series and outscored them 19-4.
3.) Staking Wins, Chipping Away
With the win, the Reds enter a tie with the Cardinals for second in the NL Central. Currently, the Reds own the season series with St. Louis, 6-4, with three games to go.
The Atlanta Braves own the final wild card spot and are on the West Coast, so their game started as the Reds' ended. At the end of the Reds' win, they sit at four games back.
Now, after an off day on Thursday, the Reds must get ready for a 10-game-in-10-days stretch, starting with the Kansas City Royals. Kansas City is sitting 11 games over .500 and third in the AL Central. If the season ended today, the Royals would be the AL's third wild card.
Right after that, they travel to face the Toronto Blue Jays, the worst team in baseball's best division. Then, they get a four-game series with the reeling Pittsburgh Pirates.
41 games remain.
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