Reds' postseason hopes take hit after stunning loss

CINCINNATI -- The TVs that showed college football in the Reds’ clubhouse Saturday afternoon were off. The players that were cheering on their favorite teams and talking about fantasy football were silent. Jonathan India stared with a blank face at his locker while Tyler Stephenson lingered in the dugout looking out at the field.

A game that started as a Reds rout turned into one of the most heartbreaking regular-season losses in recent memory, and everyone felt it. Cincinnati got out to a nine-run lead by the third inning before the Pirates scored 13 unanswered runs in a 13-12 Reds loss at Great American Ball Park.

• Games remaining (6): vs. PIT (1), at CLE (2), at STL (3)
• Standings update: The Reds (79-77) fell to 2 1/2 games behind the Cubs (81-74), who currently possess the third National League Wild Card. Cincinnati holds the tiebreaker over Chicago. The Marlins (80-75), are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Reds and have the second tiebreaker, based on intradivision record.

“A lot of emotions. What we've done this year as a team collectively has been special, and I think everybody knows that,” Stephenson said. “What [manager] David [Bell] and what this staff has done for us to be in the shoes we're at says a lot about them, and guys have stepped up in huge roles, and we're very excited for whatever the future does hold. So we know how special a thing that we have.”

When asked how he feels, TJ Friedl was blunt: “Like we were winning 9-0 and then we lost. That's what it feels like.”

The Reds got ahead quickly against Pittsburgh starter Bailey Falter, whom Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Stephenson hit back-to-back home runs off of to put the Reds up, 3-0. A five-run second inning -- headlined by Friedl’s inside-the-park home run, the Reds’ first since 2012 -- and an RBI double by Spencer Steer in the third put Cincinnati ahead, 9-0, in its first nine-run game since Aug. 24 against the Angels.

But the nine-run lead didn’t last long. Three straight Reds pitchers -- starter Connor Phillips and relievers Alex Young and Fernando Cruz -- allowed three runs. Things continued to fall apart as closer Alexis Díaz entered the tie game in the eighth and allowed four runs on five hits, both career highs.

Díaz won the closer role last season, but this year, he’s been slightly better in non-save situations. Entering Saturday, he had a 2.22 ERA in 24 1/3 innings in non-save situations, compared to a 2.68 ERA in save situations.

“What he's done, the innings, everything that he's had to do for us, we surely wouldn't be where we're at if it wasn't for what he's done,” Stephenson said. “They put up some quality at-bats right there, and I scratch my head because the amount of times that I've seen him throw some of those pitches and guys not even coming close to hitting it.”

It was the third time this season that Cincinnati allowed double-digit runs while scoring double digits (one win and one loss prior), but Saturday’s blown lead was like no other. It was just the third time since at least 1906 the Reds led by nine runs and lost.

Since Sept. 1, Reds starters are averaging 4 1/3 innings per start -- the fifth fewest in the Majors -- putting a heavy toll on the bullpen at such a crucial point in the season. And on back-to-back nights, the unit showed its wear.

“At this time of year, I'm sure everybody's battling some stuff,” Stephenson said. “But it's meaningful baseball, and we all know that. Everybody's going out there and giving it their all, and yeah, the Pirates just put some at-bats together and had some stuff go their way.”

In a way, Saturday’s loss reflected the path of the Reds’ second half. Just before the All-Star break, they had a two-game lead in the division, were 10 games above .500 and had a 40.7% chance to make the postseason, per FanGraphs, the second-highest odds in the NL Central.

Now, they’re eliminated from the division-title race and sit 2 1/2 games out of a postseason spot with six games to go. It’s not an impossible mountain to climb, but it’ll involve some luck to get there. No team has made a Wild Card from this situation since a second Wild Card was added in 2012.

“At the end of the day, we have to control the things we can control as a team, regardless of wherever we're at with the rankings,” Stephenson said. “I don't know what it's going to take, but at the end of the day, if it's meant to happen, it's going to be in our shoes. It's tough, what happened tonight, but we have to come out tomorrow and take care of business, and that's the only thing that we can do.”