How Cincinnati Reds found urgency in April and why it's never meant more for October
That’s one.
One season series against a National League opponent in the books, one season series won.
And if the Cincinnati Reds learned anything from last year’s experience and near miss of the postseason, it might be just how important that is.
Whether it happens in April or September.
“It just puts urgency on every game,” said outfielder Stuart Fairchild, who walked and scored during the decisive four-run sixth in Wednesday’s victory that clinched the season series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
“Every game matters,” he said, “and winning season series against really good teams is a big deal.”
Like never before in major-league history.
Until the playoff fields expanded to six teams per league in 2022, ties in the standings were decided with a one-game playoff if they determined whether a team made the playoffs or not.
With that one-game playoff eliminated, it’s all about tiebreaker formulas.
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And that makes what happened this week against the Phillies potentially a lot more important than your typical run-of-the-mill it’s-still-early series in April — for both playoff-minded teams.
“I was talking to Spencer (Steer) about this on the field the other day: These games are just as important as the ones that are going to be more obvious later in the season that are getting everybody’s attention and all the hype,” said Will Benson, who had a home run and the go-ahead single in Wednesday’s 7-4 season series clincher over the Phils.
The guys who were around for last year’s chase for the playoffs down the stretch have that etched in their brains after that experience.
By eking out season series wins over the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs, it gave them a game in hand as they chased those teams for the final NL playoff berth the final week of the season. They fell two games short of catching the Diamondbacks — who wound up in the World Series.
“You can kind of get a feel for what the recipe is to get to the playoffs,” Reds catcher Luke Maile said.
What’s unique about that recipe this year for the Reds — at least when it comes to the potential for tiebreakers — is that they’ll finish their season series with a whopping four NL playoff hopefuls with almost a week still left in May: the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Padres and Dodgers.
“Anytime you can beat good teams, teams that have been in the playoff races historically the last few years, you know you’re going to put yourself in a better spot than if you’re just treading water against them,” Maile said, “but that being said, they all count the same.
"We put ourselves in a spot where we were so close last year, and you could look at any number of games,” he said, “regardless of who the opponent was, and kind of point at this or that as something we had to get over in order to make it.”
To his point: The Reds started 7-15 last year. It doesn’t take one of the geniuses from the analytics department to figure out what turning that into even a 9-13 start might have meant.
“These games in April are just as crucial and important,” Benson said. “That’s why our focus is really just on winning. Just win the series. That’s what we talk about a lot.”
Whether the built-in “urgency” under the current playoff format comes into play when facing teams like the Phillies in April, the strong start the Reds talked about all spring was in full bloom during this seven-game homestand that began with a sweep of the Los Angeles Angels.
That Wednesday Phillies clincher put their record at a high-water mark of four-games over .500 in the early going and assured their best 25-game start in 18 years — since Jerry Narron’s boys went 17-8 to open the 2006 season.
“We’re playing big baseball right now,” said Fernando Cruz, who has been one of baseball’s biggest clutch relievers over the first month. “(My teammates) are ready for anything that we need in the moment. We’re like on another level of getting ready for what it takes to win a baseball game, doesn’t matter who we play.”
They’ll need all of that and more by the time they get a load of what’s ahead in May.
“That’s why it’s the big leagues,” Maile said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Cincinnati Reds' strong start has never been more important
