Reds and how they became contenders
It seems like only yesterday when in early April the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals engaged in the biggest skirmish of the 2021 Major League Baseball season.
It all started when Jake Woodford hit a ball to Nick Castellanos in the fourth inning, heating up tempers between the two teams.
Then, after scoring at the plate, Castellanos himself – whose father is of Cuban origin – flexed his muscles staring at Woodford – who was lying on the ground – prompting catcher Yadier Molina to come to the pitcher’s defense.
And if there is a ‘pamphlet’ of unwritten rules in baseball today, one of the first should be not to win Molina as an enemy. Quite possibly you will lose the battle. For Castellanos it was too late.
Within seconds, the future Puerto Rican Hall of Famer stepped into the fray, the benches emptied and MLB sanctioned those involved.
Four months later, the Cardinals (77-69) and Reds (77-71) are fighting for the last available playoff berth in the National League alongside the San Diego Padres (76-71) and Philadelphia Phillies (75-72).
The Los Angeles Dodgers (94-54) have already clinched their postseason berth and, should the San Francisco Giants (96-52) remain the West division leaders, the Dodgers will get that first wild card.
That said, for the second straight season, the Reds find themselves in this wild card battle, reaffirming their status as a contender. In the shortened 2020 campaign, they fell in the wild card round to the Atlanta Braves.
What are the keys, taking into consideration that, prior to 2020, they had not made the playoffs since 2013?
Two of the best in the same lineup
Castellanos and Jesse Winker have been terrorizing National League pitchers for several months.
Both All-Star Game selections, they lead their team in batting average at .310 and .305, respectively. In addition, the duo has combined for 53 home runs, 153 runs batted in, 162 runs scored and both post OPS’s above .900.
Winker had to leave Friday’s game after a back ball after returning from the injured list with a rib injury. Losing Winker again in these instances down the home stretch of the season would be a death blow for the Reds.
A sensational rookie
At 24, rookie second baseman Jonathan India (.270 batting) has established himself in the Reds’ lineup, leading the offense as a first baseman.
He has power (20 home runs / 66 pushes) and a great base running with 86 runs scored and 10 swipes.
The two hits during his debut this season were a good indication of what was to come. He followed that up with six consecutive games reaching base, driving in 10 runs in that span.
By the All-Star break, he was tied for third in the Nationals (3.97) in ERA.
He is the favorite to win the National League Rookie of the Year award, an award that, according to him, does not interest him: “If I win it, fine. But what I want is to go far with the Reds,” he told MLB Network.
For the first time since 2017, Votto surpasses 30 home runs in a season. He also recorded his 2,000th career hit in early August, something that could help his case to eventually enter the Hall of Fame in the distant future.
Votto is averaging .266, but has pushed in 88 runs and has 64 runs scored. Despite only hitting .174 with no home runs and just four RBIs from Aug. 21-Sept. 7, he has four hits in his last four games.
Votto also reached 300 homers and 1,000 RBIs this season.
Luis Castillo’s resurgence
After a dismal start to the season, the Dominican Castillo has had a dominant final stretch from the mound, picking up his eighth win on Friday against none other than the Dodgers.
It is also the second time this season that he has struck out at least 10 batters. He did it previously on May 11 against the Giants, proving he is ready for the big games.
The Reds no longer depend on themselves as they need the Cardinals to post a worse record for the remainder of the season to advance. However, they have two wins in a row and after the Dodgers, series against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals await them.
