The Reds won in Pittsburgh, and now they get a chance to do it again!

A Sunday matinee!

The Cincinnati Reds finally shrugged off their recent putrid record of scoring runs in Pittsburgh, unleashing a 10-run barrage on the Pirates on Saturday that makes certain that there’s no mathematical way they can leave town today in last place in the division.

So, there’s that!

At just 63-67, the Reds sit 7.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot in Fred Manrob’s superexpanded megaplayoff bracket, and the math says they’ve got just 32 games remaining to somehow jump six teams in the standings to claim it. They’ve got one final game in Pittsburgh today to try to not-lose this series, with a set against Oakland next up. After that, though, they’ve got a pretty brutal schedule to close the season, so it would behoove them to get a win today.

Y’know, I think I’ll go ahead and be more declarative - if they don’t win today’s game, they aren’t going to make the playoffs in 2024. This is me really going out on a limb here.

Nick Martinez will toe the rubber for the Reds today as they try to stave off being mentally eliminated by me. First pitch is set for 1:35 PM ET.

Go Reds.