Cincinnati Reds in NL Central and playoffs standings combine

NEW YORK –– According to Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, the entire team had a meeting last October after the Reds were beaten by the Atlanta Braves in the 2020 playoffs.

Knowing that most of the team had the potential to return for 2021, the Reds set a high standard for themselves this season.

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“Our attitude was that we will do it this year,” said Votto. “We’re going to go on, we’re going to do great things. And we feel that way. “

While the Reds are not yet in the playoff picture after Sunday’s 7-1 win against the New York Mets in the series finale, Cincinnati has just ended its best month of the season. The Reds were buyers at MLB close last week, and several starters are about to be removed from the injured list.

In the next two months, the Reds will have their chance to make it into the postseason.

The Reds had the best record in the National League at 16-10 in July, and they had two of the best hitters in baseball. Votto had the most NL home runs in July with 11 and shortstop Kyle Farmer led the league with an average of 0.395.

In July, the Reds had their best batting average and OPS of the month of the season. This week the Reds have won three straight series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and Mets.

This dynamic continued in the first game in August. While Votto had a day off on Sunday, Farmer scored an RBI triple. Max Schrock, Votto’s substitute on the line-up for the game, gave the Reds an early lead with a line drive home run on right field.

Schrock had a career high of five hits, including four singles. In his last five starts, Schrock has a batting average of .579.

Reds starter Vladimir Gutierrez had one of the best starts of his career. He carried out his goal of getting his fastballs deeper into the striking zone and carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning. Gutierrez only allowed one run in seven innings, and he hit at least six innings for the seventh time in his 12 MLB starts.

After the win on Sunday, the Reds were 6.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in NL Central. Since the Brewers also had a great July, the Reds only won 1.5 games in the division standings.

Cincinnati made up significantly more ground in the wild card race. After the San Diego Padres were 11-14 in July and lost all-star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. to the injured list, the Reds are now only 3.5 games behind second wild card place.

As the Reds got closer in the playoff race, three of their top hitters got closer to returning to the 26-man roster. Right outfield player Nick Castellanos, who still leads the NL in batting average, took part in batting practice on the field on Sunday for the first time since his right wrist injury.

Reds manager David Bell said Castellanos’ return schedule could change “very quickly” once he shows he is ready to play. Castellanos sprayed the Citi Field Home Run ballpark on Sunday, taking a significant step forward.

At the same time, center fielder Nick Senzel and third baseman Mike Moustakas continued their rehab duties in Triple-A.

Although Baseball Reference only gave the Reds a 19% chance of making the playoffs on Sunday, the Reds have several parts that are moving in the right direction.