During the final week of the regular season, the Cincinnati Reds’ front office, player development staff and key figures from across the organization gathered in Cincinnati for annual end of season meetings. They reviewed the season, discussed developments in the minor leagues and started planning for the upcoming offseason.

In those meetings, Reds manager Terry Francona made a request.

“I asked one of our guys,” Francona said in late September, “When this (season) is all said and done, I want to go back and look at all of those (extra inning) games just to see if there’s a common denominator or if it’s just baseball.”

The Reds went 3-12 in extra innings last season. No team in MLB had more extra innings losses last season than them (the average team went 6-6 in extra innings), and the Reds posted the second-worst winning percentage in extra innings last season (the only team with a worse extra innings winning percentage in 2025 was the Rockies).

Each of the Reds’ extra innings games from last season had its own story. Collectively, the extra innings losses highlight the flaws of the 2025 Reds and the most important areas where they need to improve.

While the Reds go through their own study, I also went back and rewatched every extra innings pitch that the Reds were a part of during the 2025 season. I found patterns with their approach and areas they can improve on next year. I’ll be interested to learn their takeaways. Here are mine.

Since the automatic runner on second rule in extra innings began in 2020, the strategies for the road team and the home team have become significantly different.

Typically, you see road teams “play for two runs” on the road and home teams “play for one run.” The road team generally operates under the assumption that the automatic runner for the home team is going to score because that’s what the odds suggest.

There are three types of extra inning games in MLB: road games (you’ll always start the inning tied on the road), home games where you’re tied or down a run (you’re playing for one run) and home games where you’re already down multiple runs when you get your chance to bat and need to get a big rally going.

Last year, the average MLB team lost six total extra innings games.

The Reds went 0-6 on the road in extra innings last year.

Out of those six games, the Reds lost five extra inning games where they were the road team and didn’t even score a run. The lone road extra innings run scored on Aug. 22 in Arizona, and that run was gifted to the Reds by the Diamondbacks. That run scored on a bunt and a throwing error.

Jose Trevino opened the 10th inning of that game with a bunt, which was rare for the Reds to do as the road team in extra innings last season (Trevino had a very poor .400 OPS between July 1 and Aug. 22, which helps explain the decision). Diamondbacks reliever John Curtiss airmailed the throw into right field, and Ke’Bryan Hayes scored as the ball rolled around the warning track.

That was the only road extra innings run that the Reds scored all season.

The Diamondbacks responded that night with a run of their own in the 10th, shut out the Reds in the top of the 11th and won the game on a walk-off.

Three of the Reds’ six extra innings games on the road went 11 innings. So in the nine total road extra innings that the Reds played, their automatic runner only scored once.

In a lot of different areas, the Reds need to be a much better situational hitting team in 2026. That showed up in extra innings.

In those nine road extra innings, the Reds opened the frame by successfully moving the runner over to third just three times (groundouts by Gavin Lux and Miguel Andujar, two veteran hitters, and the bunt/error from Trevino). Elly De La Cruz led off a road extra inning three times, and he had two strikeouts plus a popout on a pitch that he chased.

The Reds recorded the second out in those extra innings on the road via strikeout in five out of the nine cases.

The Reds’ limited position player depth got exposed during extra innings last season. Santiago Espinal, Jose Trevino, Connor Joe, Blake Dunn, Austin Wynns and Rece Hinds combined to go 0-for-11 in extra innings. They lacked a punchy bat off the bench for most of the season, which limited their options in extra innings.

The Reds’ 32.6% whiff rate in extra innings would have been far-and-away the worst whiff rate for a team in 2025 (the team with the worst whiff rate last year was the Rockies at 29%).

The Reds watched 18 middle-middle pitches right over the heart of the plate get called strikes in extra innings last year. The Reds saw 72 total pitches in extra innings over the middle of the plate, and only six of them resulted in hits.

There was a stunning lack of power as the Reds had just two extra-innings extra-base hits all season (both in the same game, back in August against the Brewers in a home game that the Reds ended up losing).

The Reds only had two multi-run extra-inning games. There was only one home extra innings game where the Reds came back from an extra-innings deficit to win (in June versus the Yankees).

The Reds were 0-for-4 at coming back from multi-run deficits at home in extra innings last season.

The Reds’ final statline in extra innings last year: .153 average, .484 OBP, .643 OPS. Extra innings were the statistical worst out of all the innings for Reds’ hitters in 2025.

Since the offense was that bad, especially on the road, should the Reds bunt more in extra innings and play for just one run more often?

The Reds showed bunt in extra innings seven different times last season. The bunts worked three-out-of-seven times.

Two of those successful bunts were in that one fruitful inning in Arizona in August. Trevino’s bunt forced a throwing error that scored a run. Then, with the Reds up by a run, No. 9 hitter Matt McLain moved Trevino over from second base to third with a successful sac bunt.

The other successful bunt was a week earlier in a Sunday game against the Brewers. Spencer Steer opened the 10th inning with a sac bunt that moved the runner to third, the Brewers walked the next two batters (Elly De La Cruz and Will Benson) to get a right-on-right matchup and also set up a force out at home plate, and then Austin Hays ended the game with a walk-off hit.

When did the Reds bunt in extra innings last year?

There were three bunts on the road in nine innings. McLain’s bunt is in a category of its own because the Reds were already up a run and were just playing for one more run.

The other two road bunts: Trevino’s to start the inning in Arizona, and a bunt attempt from Blake Dunn on the road in Atlanta to start the the 11th inning (Dunn failed to get the bunt down the third base line, the Braves got the out at third to eliminate the lead runner and the Reds didn’t score).

Trevino was ice cold at the time of his road extra-innings bunt, and Dunn had a .150 batting average (this bunt would end up being his final big league plate appearance of the entire season)

In sum, the Reds bunted on the road last year when they had a questionable hitter up at the plate.

At home, the Reds showed bunt in extra innings four times. The bunt only worked once (Steer’s against the Brewers).

The other three attempts were Steer failing to get a bunt down in a tie game at home versus the Diamondbacks in June (the at-bat ended with a strikeout, but the next hitter hit a walk-off single), Santiago Espinal failing to get a bunt down with the score tied and popping out in June against the Yankees in a scoreless 10th inning and Trevino missing a chance against the Brewers in August in a situation where the Reds were down by a run.

One other note about the Reds’ ability to play small ball in extra innings: They only had one stolen base in extra innings all year. The league leader in extra innings stolen bases was the Astros at six, and there were seven teams who had three-to-six steals in extra innings last year.

The Reds were 1-for-2 on extra innings stolen base attempts. The out was a play where Blake Dunn should have been granted the base on interference, and that play was so controversial that Collin Cowgill got ejected for arguing it. The steal was essentially defensive indifference as Connor Joe took second base with a runner already on third.

Around MLB last year, I was surprised to see how few examples there were (15 all season) of a runner stealing third base in extra innings. No one did that more than twice.

The Reds went 3-6 at home in extra innings last year (all of their extra-innings wins were at home). In the wins, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Gavin Lux and Hays delivered walk-off hits.

Encarnacion-Strand ended the game quickly with a hit against the Diamondbacks on June 6. A couple of weeks later against the Yankees, the Reds put together a very impressive comeback 11th inning where De La Cruz beat the throw on an infield single, Steer knocked in a run with a solid single and then Lux ended the game with a polished game-ending hit. Hays’ walk-off in August versus the Brewers was set up by Steer’s bunt.

The Reds played 11 total extra innings at home last season. Remove the three innings that ended with walkoff hits, and the other eight innings were mostly negative ones that were defined by sloppy play.

While the Reds never established a multi-run lead on the road in extra innings all season, their opponent was able to do that in four different games that resulted in Reds’ losses.

In April, an error on bunt defense by Graham Ashcraft plus a walk opened the door to a four-run 10th inning from the Mariners.

In May, Emilio Pagán walked the No. 9 hitter on the Chicago White Sox (Matt Thaiss). That was the spark to a four-run 10th inning for the visitors.

While the Reds went on to come back and beat the Yankees in their extra-inning game in June, the Reds had to come back after a wild pitch from Connor Phillips scored a run.

Facing the Brewers in the middle of July, the Reds allowed a run in the 10th inning on a play where Jake Fraley bit the dust and fell while trying to field a routine ground ball. Then in the 11th inning, the bunt defense failed again as reliever Joe La Sorsa interfered with Ke’Bryan Hayes, who wasn’t able to get the throw to first in time. That was the start of a three-run inning for Milwaukee.

The Reds spotted the Cardinals a two-run deficit at home in the 10th inning in a game in August because of a poor defensive inning from De La Cruz.

A wild pitch from Tony Santillan in the 10th inning against the Pirates in September also gave a spark to the Reds’ opponent.

That’s seven examples of negatives plays by the Reds as the home team in extra innings (the remaining home extra innings loss saw the Braves effectively move runners over and in at GABP in July).

The Reds’ opponents only made one inning-changing mistake against them in extra innings (the Diamondbacks error on the bunt). Similar to losing the turnover battle in a football game, that 7-to-1 margin is a massive advantage that the Reds gave their opponents.

One other note: While outfield assists aren’t particularly common, having stronger arms in the outfield could have helped cut down a scoring chance or a few for the Reds’ opponents last year. A throw home from the Diamondbacks’ right fielder that beat Trevino to the plate was the difference in that game. The Reds didn’t have a play like that last season in extra innings.

The Reds were bunted on seven times last year, and the bunt defense wasn’t nearly good enough.

On those seven plays, two resulted in throwing errors by Reds’ pitchers. On two other plays, the Reds didn’t execute their bunt defense and allowed the bunter to reach base. They got the out on a bunt from the Diamondbacks in August, but the bunt set up their chance for a walk-off hit in the 11th.

There was only one real win from the Reds’ bunt defense last year. It was a massive one as Trevino made a Gold Glove caliber play, beating the lead runner with a throw to third to get the out at third on a bunt in front of home plate on a play that saved the day for the Reds on Aug. 17 against Milwaukee.

There wasn’t a trend for when teams bunted on the Reds in extra innings. There were from a road team in a tie game, three were from a home team in a tie game and one was from the home team in a game where the Reds had a one-run lead.

The Reds had a very solid bullpen last year, and their high-leverage group was a strength of the team. But relievers won’t be perfect. Emilio Pagán, Tony Santillan, Graham Ashcraft and Nick Martinez were charged with six losses in extra innings games last season. You tip your cap following clutch extra-innings at-bats against the Reds last year from quality hitters like Mike Yastremski, Randy Arozarena, Marcell Ozuna, Ketel Marte and Fernando Tatis Jr. On the whole, those top Reds relievers got the job done last year more often than not.

But there were also four extra innings games where the loss went to Lyon Richardson, Chase Petty, Taylor Rogers or Joe La Sorsa. The Reds need better options in those moments. How good your depth is shows up in moments where the game is on the line.