In the battle for the final National League wild card spot—where no team seems eager to take control—the Cincinnati Reds made progress on Wednesday. They handled business in the afternoon, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2 thanks to a strong showing from Spencer Steer. The win pushed Cincinnati back to a .500 record at 76-76 with 10 games left in the season.
Later that night, the Reds got more help. The San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks, both in the same playoff chase, faced each other. After 10 scoreless innings, the Giants erupted for five runs in the 11th and held on for a 5-1 win. Arizona, who entered ahead of both teams, still leads them—but now by just a half-game.
The New York Mets currently occupy the third wild card slot, but they’ve been spiraling for months. Their hot start has kept them barely afloat, but a 7-4 loss to San Diego on Wednesday dropped them to 2-9 in their last 11 games and 16-29 over their last 45. The loss leaves them 1.5 games ahead of Arizona and two games ahead of Cincinnati and San Francisco. The Mets, Reds, and Giants each have 10 games left, while the Diamondbacks have nine.
Remaining schedules:
- Mets: Six games against the struggling Marlins (71-80) and Nationals (second-worst record in NL), plus a tough set against the Cubs (88-64).
- Diamondbacks: The hardest slate, with matchups against the Phillies (91 wins), Dodgers (84 wins), and Padres (83 wins)—all playoff teams.
- Reds: Face the Cubs and Brewers, two of the league’s best, but also get a break against the lowly Pirates (65 wins).
- Giants: Likely the softest schedule of the bunch, closing against the Rockies (41 wins) and Cardinals (74-79), though they open with a series against the first-place Dodgers.
None of these clubs are in strong form. The Mets have dropped eight of their last ten, the Giants are 4-6 in that stretch, while the Reds and Diamondbacks sit at 5-5. If one of them can string together a late-season surge, it might be enough to clinch a playoff berth. Over the next 11 days, fans could witness either thrilling momentum—or crushing disappointment—as their teams fight to extend their seasons into October.
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