MILWAUKEE — One playoff berth remains up for grabs heading into the final day of Major League Baseball’s regular season.
Cincinnati will earn the National League’s third and final wild card if the Reds beat the Milwaukee Brewers or the New York Mets lose at Miami on Sunday. A New York victory and Cincinnati loss would send the Mets to the playoffs instead.
The Reds and Mets have identical 83-78 records. Cincinnati owns the head-to-head tiebreaker because it won four of its six meetings with the Mets this season.
“If you could have promised us this in spring training, I think everybody would sign up for it every year,” Reds closer Emilio Pagán said Saturday night after his team’s 7-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. “As cool as it is to clinch ahead of time and kind of know where you’re at, to have every single game be this meaningful is a gift. It doesn’t come around often. Hopefully we can make the most of it.”
Whichever team earns that last playoff berth heads to Los Angeles to begin an NL Wild Card Series against the defending World Series champion Dodgers on Tuesday.
The two teams fighting for the final spot offer a study in contrasts.
Cincinnati last reached the playoffs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The Reds last earned a playoff berth in a full season in 2013, and they haven’t won a postseason series since 1995.
The Mets made it to the National League Championship Series last year and began this season with an MLB-high $322.6 million payroll.
Although the Mets owned MLB’s best record at 45-24 through June 12, they’ve gone just 38-54 since. That has enabled Cincinnati to move into playoff position despite going 16-18 over its last 34 games.
Cincinnati has heated up lately, winning eight of its last 10.
“We’ve felt we’ve been playing playoff baseball now for a while,” Pagán said. “Obviously we’ve needed some help across the league, and there’s no doubt we’ve gotten some. But right now we’re playing really good baseball. We’re excited to get to the field tomorrow.”
The Mets lost control of their postseason fate Friday when they fell 6-2 at Miami while the Reds won 3-1 at Milwaukee. New York bounced back Saturday afternoon by beating the Marlins 5-0, with Clay Holmes and three relievers combining on a one-hitter.
“It definitely felt good,” Holmes said. “It’s a game we had to win today. I just went out there and kind of gave it my all. I think once we finish the job here and get in the playoffs, it will be a little bit more satisfying.”
The Mets’ game ended before the Reds started playing Saturday night. Cincinnati then broke a scoreless tie with a six-run third inning and stayed ahead the rest of the way against the Brewers to move a step away from the playoffs.
“Obviously, we have a lot riding tomorrow and everyone’s going to be hyped up,” said Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott, the winning pitcher in Saturday’s game. “There will be a lot of pressure, a lot of excitement. But that’s good. Hopefully we feed off it and come ready to play.”
Cincinnati’s Brady Singer (14-11, 3.95 ERA) will start Sunday, while the Reds’ lineup will face All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta (17-6. 2.68). Sean Manaea (2-4, 5.80) will start for the Mets against Miami’s Edward Cabrera (7-7, 3.66).
A postseason run would represent the latest chapter in the illustrious managerial career for Terry Francona, who led the Boston Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007 and guided Cleveland to Game 7 of the 2016 Fall Classic.
Francona took a year off from managing for health reasons before the Reds hired him. Now he’s on the verge of getting back to the playoffs during his first season in Cincinnati.
“It’s exciting,” Francona said. “Don’t run from it. I know sleep this time of year is not great anyway. We’ll be ready to go.”
Pagán exemplifies the Reds’ sense of urgency as they chase this playoff berth. He pitched for the fourth straight day Saturday and retired the side in order in the ninth to earn his 32nd save.
The only other player to pitch four straight days this season was the Athletics’ Tyler Ferguson, who did it from May 3-6.
After Saturday’s game, Pagán was asked how his arm feels.
“Right now it feels great,” he said. “Adrenaline is through the roof. I’m probably not going to fall asleep for a few hours. I’m sure whenever the season does end — hopefully a month and a half from now — it’s not going to feel great for a couple of days, but that’s OK. This is what you sign up for, for these opportunities and moments like this. If I can throw it over the plate tomorrow, then I’m going to try my hardest to get in there.”
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