Reds gain traction in standings with sweep of Cards

CINCINNATI -- Aware their season has often been a grind with numerous coughs and fits, the Reds refused to be left for dead in the National League playoff picture. That perseverance could finally be paying off.

With Wednesday's 9-2 victory over the Cardinals at Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati completed a three-game series sweep and extended its winning streak to four games. The Reds slugged 10 homers in the series, compared to one for St. Louis.

"We’ve had tough stretches this year. It’s part of baseball," said second baseman Jonathan India who busted out of an 0-for-23 skid with two home runs during his three-hit night. "These last couple of months, we need to find a way and we are going to.”

The Reds (60-61), who have also won 13 of their past 21 games while hitting 35 homers in that stretch, have scratched their way to one game below .500 for the first time since June 14 when they were 34-35. They haven't been at .500 since they were 16-16 on May 3.

“We’re clicking at the right time," said center fielder TJ Friedl, who on his 29th birthday also hit two homers. "Now is a great time to play your best baseball.”

A good combo is happening this week for the Reds, who are 4 1/2 games back in the Wild Card standings. They are heating up while their division rivals in the playoff chase are sliding backward.

Cincinnati, which was last in the NL Central on Saturday, is now tied with the Cardinals for second place. The Reds passed both the Pirates (losers of 10 in a row) and the Cubs in the division and Wild Card standings over the past few days. St. Louis has lost 15 of 25 games since the All-Star break.

Still ahead of the Reds in the Wild Card race are the Mets, Giants and Braves.

“We’ve kind of said it all year, and it can kind of get stale. I’m sure it’s frustrating for fans to hear, ‘We’re going to go on our run, and other teams will start to struggle.’ It’s kind of the nature of the season," said Emilio Pagán, who served as the Reds' opener Wednesday and pitched two scoreless innings. "It does kind of feel like we’re starting to flip the script a little bit."

With one out in the bottom of the third inning against Cardinals starter Kyle Gibson, Will Benson drew a walk and Noelvi Marte followed with a single to right field.

That set the table for India, who slugged a three-run homer to left-center field. Two batters later with two outs, Tyler Stephenson made it a 4-0 game with a homer to right-center field -- his fifth homer this month and 16th this season.

Leading off the bottom of the fifth, India notched his second homer of the night and 11th this season with a drive to straightaway center field. With two outs, Friedl slugged a Gibson first pitch to right field for a solo homer.

St. Louis scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning against Carson Spiers, but Friedl got a run back with his second homer of the game, a leadoff drive to right-center field in the bottom of the seventh.

The Reds won on a night when they didn't have one of their top starters on the mound after Andrew Abbott and Hunter Greene won the first two games of the series. Spiers, who would normally have the next turn, was the third of six pitchers used in the game and worked 2 2/3 innings.

“It’s big. We need to keep going. It’s a good sweep," India said. "We just need to keep winning, that’s the bottom line."

There is a day off on Thursday before the Reds host a three-game series vs. the Royals, who currently hold the third Wild Card spot in the American League.

"It doesn’t guarantee that on Friday we’re still going to be in rhythm. We’ve got to do everything we can to keep it going," Pagán said.

Throughout the season, manager David Bell has been adamant about not magnifying one game, one win or one loss as more important than any other. His players have heeded that approach.

“Momentum, we know that’s real. We just have to keep going, it’s that simple," Bell said. "I know it sounds ridiculous. Just keep going, keep playing, don’t worry about anything else. Continue to believe in what we’re doing. Continue to work like our guys do, they’re great at that.”