The Reds were declared dead several times in 2025, and when a three-game sweep in September at the hands of the Athletics in Sacramento pushed them to a game under .500 with 13 games left, it felt like the final nail in the team\u2019s postseason hopes.<\/p>\n
The Reds beat the A\u2019s 6-5 to complete a three-game sweep of that same franchise Thursday \u2014 a bit of symmetry that wasn\u2019t lost on Emilio Pag\u00e1n. He recorded saves in the first two games of the series, then took a minute to address teammates following the third game that saw the Reds improve to 12-6 since the All-Star break and 56-58 overall.<\/p>\n
Pag\u00e1n\u2019s message was short, but important: Keep doing what you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, we were written off, and we went on a pretty good run to finish the year and got into the dance,\u201d Pag\u00e1n said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been written off now for a while for this year, but this team proved last year we don\u2019t quit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Who won and lost the MLB trade deadline?<\/p>\n
Andy McCullough and Johnny Sweet<\/p>\n
Pag\u00e1n saw the outfielders working with coach Collin Cowgill before games last week, then later watched center fielder Dane Myers make a game-saving catch at the wall while he was on the mound Tuesday. This week, he saw rookie Sal Stewart work with coaches Freddie Benavides and Mike Napoli on scooping the ball at first base and struggling to do so earlier in the series, then watched him do it in the ninth inning Thursday for the game\u2019s penultimate out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI messed up, I could have made some picks that I didn\u2019t, and that\u2019s on me,\u201d Stewart said of his miscues at first. \u201cNo one else to blame but myself. So I had to get out there and keep on working at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the exact attitude Pag\u00e1n has seen throughout the clubhouse, which is why he is bullish on the team\u2019s chances to win each day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I was trying to say (Thursday), when we work on things like that, we\u2019re not just working on it because,\u201d Pag\u00e1n said. \u201cIt was just a reminder that when doing that stuff, take it seriously because we\u2019re going to get an opportunity to show that we\u2019ve worked on it and give us a chance to be successful and be where we want to be at the end of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
This version of the Reds has learned about comebacks, having trailed in seven of their last 10 victories, including Thursday.<\/p>\n
After starter Andrew Abbott gave up three runs in the fourth inning to put the Reds behind 3-1, Stewart asked manager Terry Francona if he wanted him to take the first pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes after a long inning, you try to have a long inning and give our pitcher a breather,\u201d Stewart explained.<\/p>\n
Francona responded, \u201cI want you to hit one into the seats in right field stands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stewart took the first pitch for a ball, but then jumped on the second, a four-seam fastball, and hit it into the stands in left-center, his 25th home run of the season. That topped Joey Votto for the second-most homers by a Reds rookie, behind only Frank Robinson (38 in 1956).<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never listens to me anyway,\u201d Francona joked.<\/p>\n
Catcher Tyler Stephenson tied the game a batter later with his 10th home run and fourth since the All-Star break. The Reds took the lead the next inning when reliever Elvis Alvarado walked in a pair of runs with the bases loaded. Former Athletic JJ Bleday added a solo home run in the seventh, an add-on that ended up being the game-winner after the A\u2019s Brian Serven hit a two-run home run in the ninth.<\/p>\n
The A\u2019s didn\u2019t offer Bleday a contract after last season, allowing the Reds to sign him as a free agent. The home run was Bleday\u2019s 20th this season, tying his career-best mark set with the A\u2019s in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s always going to be nerves, awkwardness \u2014 whatever you want to call it \u2014 with those situations, but right now I\u2019m happy to be Red,\u201d Bleday said. \u201cI wake up and thank God every day that I\u2019m in Cincinnati.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\n Teammates congratulate JJ Bleday after he hit a solo home run during the seventh inning Thursday against the Athletics at Great American Ball Park. (Kirk Irwin \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Abbott picked up his sixth win, allowing just those three runs in the fourth. More importantly, he pitched into the seventh inning the day after he was moved up in the rotation when Hunter Greene went on the IL with right elbow soreness.<\/p>\n
Abbott was scheduled to start Friday\u2019s series-opener against the Washington Nationals, but Greene\u2019s injury meant the Reds needed to go with a bullpen game either Thursday or Friday. With Monday an off day, Abbott was on five days\u2019 rest, and he thought he\u2019d be able to go longer and match up better against the A\u2019s left-handed-heavy lineup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really just wanted to give the bullpen as much of a break as possible because it\u2019s tough throwing a night game at 6:40 and turning around and throwing at 12:40 the next day,\u201d Abbott said.<\/p>\n
The Reds still have a tough road ahead, not only with a bullpen game Friday, but after a day off Monday, the Reds play 17 games in 16 days in three time zones.<\/p>\n
After a day off Aug. 27, the Reds have 28 games remaining, with 25 of those against teams currently in playoff spots. The only three games on the schedule in September against a non-playoff team come in the season-ending series in Toronto against last year\u2019s American League champions.<\/p>\n
The Reds\u2019 postseason odds are still just 3 percent, according to FanGraphs, but they\u2019ve faced that before, and Francona said he\u2019s seen buy-in from the team all year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s probably why I get protective of these guys because I see that way more than maybe (outside) people notice,\u201d Francona said. \u201cI see the things like when (catcher) Jose Trevino was down, Tyler Stephenson saying \u2018I\u2019ll catch every day.\u2019 Things like that, even when he wasn\u2019t hitting. It\u2019s a good group, and I think I was pretty consistent with that even when things weren\u2019t going so good.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Thursday\u2019s win and the Pittsburgh Pirates\u2019 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Reds moved out of last place in the National League Central for the first time since May and within five games of the wild card.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve almost got back to .500, so we still have a long way to go,\u201d Pag\u00e1n said. \u201cWe\u2019re not asking anybody to celebrate for us right now, but we\u2019re playing good baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n