The Cincinnati Reds know they are a heavy underdog.
After all, the Reds are squaring off against the reigning-champion Los Angeles Dodgers after reaching the postseason with the second-fewest wins (83) of any team in a 162-game season ever.
They only clinched their postseason berth Sunday, edging out the New York Mets for the No. 3 wild card in the National League.
Yet, the Reds are embracing the role of heavy underdogs against the Dodgers, even though they finished 10 games behind the reigning champions and 109 fewer runs in the regular season.
Reds Believe They ‘Have Some Momentum’
To the Reds they have been playing postseason games for weeks and have come through.
Cincinnati is 8-3 in its past 11 games while overcoming a three-game deficit in the final week-plus. In that span, the Reds swept four games from the playoff-bound Chicago Cubs then won a series over the MLB-best Milwaukee Brewers simply to qualify for the postseason.
âI think weâve got some momentum going over the last couple of weeks,” Reds second baseman Gavin Lux told The Athletic. “Weâve taken series from some super good teams, and weâve been in that do-or-die mode for a couple of weeks now.â
Lux is familiar with the Dodgers organization, since he came up in their organization and helped them win the World Series a season ago over the New York Yankees. Yet, he isn’t the only one with playoff experience instilling confidence in the relatively inexperienced group.
âA lot of people didnât think weâd be here, but we know we belon. Thereâs no doubt in our mind,” Reds pitcher Nick Martinez, who pitched to a 0.87 ERA in seven postseason appearances with the San Diego Padres in 2022, told USA Today Sports. “Weâre going to continue to play our style, and weâre going to be dangerous.”
Reds Have An Uphill Battle Against Dodgers’ Dominant Starters
The Reds are saying all the right things. But they have to put up a Herculean effort to overcome the reigning champs, particularly with the rotation they are putting up for the Wild Card Series.
The Dodgers announced two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, likely 2025 Cy Young finalist Yoshinobu Yamamoto and reigning NL MVP Shohei Ohtani as their Wild Card Series probable starters.
Cincinnati went 1-5 against LA during the regular season — its lone win came against LA No. 5 starter Emmett Sheehan — and it was swept in three games at Dodger Stadium last month.
âWe know theyâre a good team,” Reds reliever Brent Suter told USA Today. âThey play the game right. Theyâve got a great tradition here. But we also know what an opportunity we have to come in here and play the defending World Series champs.
âWho knows what could happen? They took it to us a month ago. They beat us in every facet of the game. Now, we just want to return the favor here when it matters the most.”
Suter, 36, is a Cincinnati kid who made 48 appearances in his second season with the Reds. He embodies the Reds‘ spirit entering the postseason — even though they are hoping to shock the world.
âAs a hometown guy playing for this team and going to the postseason and celebrating and popping bottles. I was just pinching myself, and saying, ‘Donât wake up. This is a dream. Donât wake up,â” Suter said “It was so fun, so close, just bear hugs to every single person in this organization. It was just an amazing couple of hours of emotional joy.”
âMan, Iâm so grateful.”
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