At some point over the last five weeks, the Cincinnati Reds turned a hot streak into an expectation.
The offense is scoring more than five runs a game since the All-Star break. Starting pitching has stabilized. The bullpen looks a bit different after trades and relievers returning from the injured list.
The Reds completed their four-game sweep against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday with a 3-2 victory at Great American Ball Park and they made it look easy. After winning the first three games with their offense, it was Tyler Mahle and the pitching staff who took centerstage for the series finale.
That’s what good teams do against sub-.500 opponents, finding different ways to win. And the Reds have the National League's best record since the start of July.
"Making the playoffs last year, competing against a team that pressed the World Champions, we'd like another opportunity at that," Joey Votto said. "We have a strong club and we don't want to leave the season empty-handed."
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Winning 10 of their last 12 games, the Reds have things falling into place. They’re within 2.5 games of a playoff spot, providing pressure on the San Diego Padres in the wild-card race. Nick Castellanos and Mike Moustakas returned to the lineup this weekend. Lucas Sims is back in the bullpen.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton noted the strength of the guys on the Reds' bench after Saturday's game. Tyler Naquin has 13 homers and 57 RBI this year. Aristides Aquino has obvious power. Moustakas and Eugenio Suárez are splitting time at third base.
"There are moments on the bench where we chat with one another and start kind of feeling ourselves," Votto said, "like, oh my goodness, look at this lineup, how it's coming together."
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Manager David Bell, who now has a 167-167 record in his three years with the Reds, made sure to emphasize how much players stepped up when they dealt with injuries this year throughout his press conferences this week.
Where would the Reds be without Jonathan India at the top of the lineup? Kyle Farmer played exceptional defense at shortstop and he's been phenomenal at the plate for the past month. Guys like Brad Brach and Heath Hembree stepped up in the bullpen when there were injuries.
Now the Reds are 10 games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2013 season.
"It's nice to be on a field with guys making good money, with All-Stars, guys that have won championships, with guys that have had accolades that know how to do it themselves," Votto said. "There's a level of professionalism that's really refreshing. Not only is it enjoyable to play with them, but you also have a tendency to learn from them."
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Votto shared an example from Sunday's win. The Reds had two runners in scoring position in the fourth inning after back-to-back doubles by Jesse Winker and Nick Castellanos. Votto drilled a ball off the top of the wall in right-center field, but it became only a long RBI single.
It still turned into a three-run fourth inning when Tyler Stephenson drove in a run on a fielder's choice ground ball and Farmer hit an RBI double.
"(Akiyama) said, 'you've got to run out of the box!'" Votto said. "I said, 'you're absolutely right.' I thought it was hit well, but I didn't gun it out of the box and I missed an opportunity to at least try for a double. I probably wouldn't have gotten a double, but his message was clear and he was absolutely right."
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Even in a game where the Reds offense was limited to six hits, Mahle was there to pick up his hitters. He completed seven innings for the third time this season, matching his career-high, and he struck out 10.
Michael Lorenzen and Mychal Givens pitched the final two innings out of the bullpen, retiring six of the seven batters they faced.
Mahle permitted two runs on six hits and zero walks. One run scored on an infield single when Suárez was overaggressive on an attempted sliding stop in front of the shortstop Farmer and deflected a ground ball into the outfield. Another run came in the sixth inning when Mahle surrendered a solo homer to Ke'Bryan Hayes with a two-run lead.
He watched the way Vladimir Gutierrez controlled the Pirates' lineup with his changeup Saturday, so he responded with a heavy dose of splitters on Sunday. He struck out every Pirates hitter at least once except Gregory Polanco, mixing his splitter with his fastball and slider.
"When everything is clicking like it is right now, we’re going to beat a lot of teams," Mahle said. "We’re feeling pretty good right now."
The Reds have nine of their final 50 games against the Pirates to end the season and it's been one-sided domination to this point. They’ve outscored the Pirates, 82-26, this season. They never trailed at the end of an inning this weekend.
Dating back to last season, the Reds have won 13 of their last 14 games vs. the Pirates, including 12 consecutive home games. It's the Reds' longest home winning streak against Pittsburgh since an 18-game winning streak at Crosley Field from 1939-40.
San Diego still has 12 games left against the Los Angeles Dodgers and seven versus the San Francisco Giants, so the Reds will have their opportunities to gain ground in the final eight weeks of the season.
"We feel good but we know we have a lot of work to do and teams have been better than us so far this year," Votto said. "It's our responsibility to finish these last 50 games strong. I like our lineup. I like our pitching. We're making progress, for sure."
Next up is a seven-game road trip through Cleveland, Atlanta and Philadelphia. The Phillies are tied with the Reds for the most wins in the NL since July 1.
"Good teams we’re going to be playing," Bell said. "That's what we expect the rest of the way. I think we welcome that. We know what it takes."
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