Through the NL Central the Cincinnati Reds must go to reach the playoffs

That title’s as obvious as it gets if you write it on Opening Day.

Thanks to the quirks of the scheduling gods, it’s as obvious as it gets for me writing it on September 18th, too.

The Cincinnati Reds have 10 games remaining on their 2025 regular season slate, and all 10 of them will come against their division rivals in the National League Central. First up is a 7-game homestand with the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates in town, and the Reds will hit the road to wrap the schedule with a trio of games against the might Milwaukee Brewers.

First up, though, are the Cubs, and they’re a mighty foe. They’ve clinched a playoff spot already, to their credit, and currently boast four separate position players who are pacing for 5+ WAR seasons in Nico Hoerner, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker, and Dansby Swanson. They rank among the absolute elite teams in all of baseball in wRC+, wOBA, xwOBA, runs scored, homers, steals, and even defense. In other words, the Cincinnati pitching staff is going to have its work cut out for it over the next four games if the Reds are to stick around this Wild Card chase of theirs.

If there’s a weakness for the Reds to exploit, though, it’s Chicago’s starting pitching. That unit’s xFIP (4.33) ranks just 23rd overall so far this year, and the likes of Colin Rea, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, and Javier Assad are hardly imposing on paper as hurlers the Reds are slated to face. So, it’s encouraging that the Reds will counter with Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Zack Littell, and Andrew Abbott over the course of the action.

Cincinnati sits 2 games back of the final NL Wild Card spot, tied with the San Francisco Giants and a half-game back of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They’re all chasing the stumbling New York Mets, who wrap a series in San Diego tonight before hosting the Washington Nationals over the weekend. They, then, hit the road to face the very same Cubs before wrapping against the Miami Marlins, so it’s hardly the toughest slate they’ve got remaining. So, the Reds are just going to have to buckle down and stack up wins against some pretty damn good teams, maybe hoping that they’ve eased off the accelerator now that they’ve solidified their postseason positions.

Anyway, it’s set to be a rockin’ weekend in GABP so long as the Reds don’t fumble the ball on Thursday and Friday and make Saturday and Sunday all moot.

Go Reds!

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