Destiny is back in their hands!
Timely hitting from Miguel Andujar and Gavin Lux and a fortuitous bounce off the bag at second base will dominate the storylines from Friday’s massive 3-1 victory by the Cincinnati Reds in the series opener in Milwaukee. Rightfully so, too, as Cincinnati’s offense has lacked the ability to pick up hits when they matter time and time again over the course of the season.
That kind of outage has put outsized pressure on a pitching staff that’s already been incredibly up to the task, but tonight that’s exactly what also came through for them as well. Zack Littell was nails as the starter, yielding just a lone earned run in 4.2 IP before manager Terry Francona turned to the fireballers in his bullpen to get the rest taken care of. Take care of it they did, as Connor Phillips, Graham Ashcraft, Tony Santillan, and Emilio Pagan combined to close things ot in lockdown fashion thereafter.
The win vaulted the Reds back into playoff position, as they’re in a tie with the New York Mets in the standings after the Metros lost to the Miami Marlins down in south Florida earlier on the day. The Reds hold the tiebreaker in the even those two clubs finish the season tied, meaning Cincinnati now controls its own destiny with just two regular season games remaining.
Keep in mind that the Brewers are not going to simply roll over this series. They’re one win away from clinching home field advantage through the NLCS, something that remains paramount for them after the chasing Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Minnesota Twins to stay mathematically relevant in that race for another day. So, the Reds are still going to face an A-lineup and effort in tomorrow’s game, too.
For tonight, at least, we’ve got the hopiest of hopes in Reds Country as the little club that could simply refuses to bow out just yet.
Category: General Sports
