Reds playoff odds are hanging by a thread with just 5 games remaining
In what may eventually be Joey Votto's final game in front of the home crowd at Great American Ball Park, the Cincinnati Reds walked away victorious and kept their slim playoff hopes alive.
Cincinnati lost the opening game of their three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday and then lost a heartbreaker to the Buccos on Saturday night that almost ended the Redlegs playoff hopes altogether.
But, while their playoff odds have taken quite the hit, the Reds are still alive with just five games remaining in the 2023 regular season.
According to Baseball Reference, the Cincinnati Reds odds of making the postseason are just 7.1-percent. Over the past week, which at one point saw the Reds lose four game in a row, Cincinnati's playoff odds have dipped over 25-percent.
The Philadelphia Phillies are in firm control of the top NL Wild Card spot, but the rest of the contenders are jammed together in a race for the final two spots.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are clinging to the second Wild Card spot by a half-game over the Chicago Cubs. The Miami Marlins sit just a game back in the standings and the Cincinnati Reds are 2.5 games back with five to play.
After cancelling the D-backs game on Saturday against the New York Yankees, Arizona no longer has any days off remaining between now and the end of the season. Cincinnati has two off-days. The Reds, Cubs, and Marlins are all idle on Monday while the D-backs wrap up their series against the New York Yankees.
The Cincinnati Reds have two games against the Cleveland Guardians on the road before traveling to St. Louis to play the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. One would think that sweeping the Guardians and Cardinals is a must if the Reds hope to have any chance to making it to the postseason. But stranger things have happened.
