Is the Cincinnati Reds Pitching Staff World Series Bound?
The Cincinnati Reds currently sit as the eighth and final seed in the NL postseason standings.
Currently, the Cincinnati Reds are close to a .500 ballclub at 29-28, sitting third in the NL Central Division but as the eighth seed in the expanded NL postseason standings. Besides the expanded postseason format and Wild Card spot, how are the Reds in contention for a postseason berth?
An easy answer to this question: phenomenal pitching.
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Ace Trevor Bauer leads the way for Cincinnati’s pitching staff. Bauer, one of the favorites to take home the NL Cy Young Award, completed another memorable outing on Wednesday. Pitching on three days’ rest, in the middle of a heated postseason race, Bauer delivered with eight innings, 12 strikeouts, and one earned run.
All against the Milwaukee Brewers, the team trailing Cincinnati by just one game for the final seed in the postseason.
With this gritty performance, Bauer moved to 5-4, lowered his ERA to 1.73, and took control of the best ERA amongst starting pitchers in baseball.
The rest of the staff may not pitch at this Cy Young Award-level, but this staff is deep and full of flamethrowers. As a whole, Cincinnati leads the league in strikeouts with 569. On the flip side, the Reds have struggled mightily at the plate this season.
But, as we all know, pitching wins in the postseason. This begs the question. Can Cincinnati’s pitching staff propel this squad to championship aspirations?