MLB retirement video for Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds legend Joey Votto speaks in Toronto about his retirement from baseball.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Cincinnati Reds aren’t leading the league in every area this season. In fact, they’re so far off the top of the National League Central standings that they were officially eliminated Friday night with 13 games to go.
They don’t even lead in stolen bases anymore.
But when it comes to too little, too late, no one can hold a candle to the Reds these days.
After two wins on Friday and Saturday against the playoff-minded Minnesota Twins, the Reds are suddenly on the upswing, winning five of their last seven games.
After taking a nine-run fourth-inning lead to an 11-1 victory on Saturday, the Reds improved their record to 9-4 this month, trailing the major leagues’ best starting pitcher in September – despite having four of this season’s top five starters on the injured list and the fifth being traded more than six weeks ago.
The pitching staff had a total ERA of 2.25 in this stretch, with the bullpen making 6 of 6 save chances.
New additions to the Reds: Hunter Greene The simulation game of Hunter Greene, the star of the Cincinnati Reds, was postponed to Tuesday due to scheduling reasons
Reds replace David Bell Cincinnati Reds President Nick Krall has no comment on coach David Bell’s status for 2025
They failed to achieve this performance in all areas, even when the rotation was completely healthy and the top three pitchers were like All-Stars.
“It starts with starting pitching,” manager David Bell said, “and having Nick (Martinez) on the mound. We know what to expect when he’s out there. He’s going to give us a great performance. And just get off to a great start again.”
In 13 games in September, the Reds starters have a 5-0 record and an ERA of 1.71.
Right-hander Nick Martinez, who earned the win in six innings on Saturday, played a big part in that performance, posting a 3-0 record and a 0.96 ERA in three starts this month.
He is 4-1 with a 2.92 ERA in nine starts since returning to the rotation full-time a week after Opening Day starter Frankie Montas was traded to the Brewers at the deadline.
“He knows how to throw. He’s in top form,” Bell said.
Martinez, perhaps the team’s most valuable pitcher this year because of his versatility and success, sees value in the late-season surge the team is experiencing, especially for the handful of players who are getting increased opportunities to show something ahead of the crucial offseason – including guys like rookie pitcher Julian Aguiar, who earned the win on Friday, and rookie Rhett Lowder, who starts on Sunday.
“You want the guys to get a lot of effort now and go into the offseason with a lot of confidence, no matter how we do,” says the 34-year-old Martinez, who is likely cementing his own strong position on the free agent market.
“I think that’s important. Our last game is at the end of September, so pulling out shouldn’t really be an option.”
The “too little, too late” part, of course, refers to their nine-game deficit in the battle for the final wild-card playoff spot with 12 games left to play, despite coming up a game against the New York Mets on Saturday.
Imagine if they had combined that kind of pitching with this week’s prolific hitting all season. Or most of the season. Half the season? Their nine runs in the fourth inning on Saturday were a season high for an inning.
Imagine if TJ Friedl had been healthy all year. Four more hits from him on Saturday, including his second home run in as many days, made it 8 of 9 hits for Friedl heading into Sunday’s series finale.
Elly De La Cruz hit his first career grand slam in Friday’s win. Jake Fraley had three hits and a home run on Saturday, a single and a home run came after he jammed his wrist while sliding into the plate in the third inning. Jonathan India reached base three times.
“We have to finish strong,” De La Cruz said. “No matter where we are, we have to finish strong to be strong next year.”
Imagine if Noelvi Marte’s 3-for-9 pace with two walks during the 5-2 run had been anywhere near as good since returning from his steroid suspension, not to mention if he hadn’t been suspended all season and had performed well. He had a two-run double during Saturday’s Big Four.
Imagine if Matt McLain had played this season. At all.
At least they can dream of avoiding a losing season if they win eight of their last twelve games.
“Nobody wants to just stop playing well,” Fraley said. “We as a team want to do everything well. We want to do our best. I think the character that exists in this clubhouse with everyone is phenomenal. Everyone is going to continue to go out there and give it everything they have.”
“Everybody cares. Everyone cares about it. It’s important to us to do it for the guy next to us. That kind of goes hand in hand with being able to finish the season strong and finish well for the guy next to you.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2)/jared-padalecki-walker-062724-tout-dfad35d2503d47bab808401823c5b44f.jpg "Jared Padalecki secures role in “Fire Country” after cancellation of “Walker”")
