Just win, baby: Cincinnati Reds catch Cubs, still need help to reach October

ST. LOUIS — It doesn’t get any easier for the Cincinnati Reds and their playoff chase, but the math got a lot easier after Friday night’s round of games among the four teams fighting for the last two National League playoff spots.

While they were beating the St. Louis Cardinals 19-2, the Cubs had the Busch Stadium out-of-town scoreboard staring them in the face as the Miami Marlins came from behind in the eighth inning to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3.

“It was on the scoreboard, and we peeked,” Jonathan India said. “Some of us were; I was.”

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It was after the game that the Reds got the most help, when the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in 10 innings and the Houston Astros followed by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1.

The Reds have become experts on tiebreaker formulas and possible playoff scenarios this week, and guys were watching both the Cubs and Diamondbacks games in the clubhouse after their game finished.

“Just a few new rules I’ve learned,” said rookie Brandon Williamson (5-5), who pitched six strong innings Friday. “But all you can do is win. That’s it.”

All four teams still alive for the last two NL wild-card spots are separated by two games with two days left in the regular season — plus the Marlins’ suspended game against the Mets pending after rain stopped that game Thursday night in the ninth inning with the Marlins ahead 2-1. The conclusion of that game will be played in New York on Monday if it’s necessary to determine a playoff spot.

The big news for the Reds on Friday night is that they caught the Cubs. Because they own the tiebreaker against the Cubs, that means they’ve created a path to the playoffs that is essentially a three-team race for two spots.

But it’s still a needle to thread for the Reds, who own the tiebreaker against the Diamondbacks but not the Marlins.

To advance, they need:

1. To win their last two games against the Cardinals on Saturday (with rookie Connor Phillips starting) and Sunday (Hunter Greene); and

2. The Diamondbacks OR the Marlins to lose their remaining games. Arizona has two left against Houston, which is locked in its own pitched battle for a playoff spot; the Marlins have two left in Pittsburgh plus the suspended game.

There also is a scenario in which all four teams could finish with 84-78 records. Because of the tiebreakers, the Marlins and Reds would advance in that case.

“I think we all know what needs to happen,” India said. “Bottom line: We need to win.”

Since the playoff fields expanded to six teams in each league last year, ties for playoff berths are no longer decided on the field.

“Literally, it’s just control what we can do,” Williamson said. “We can’t go to Milwaukee and pitch against the Cubs. We can’t go hit for the Brewers. All we can do is try to replicate what we did tonight and play our best ball and win some games, and the cards will fall.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How Cincinnati Reds can reach playoffs with 2 games left in season