The Cincinnati Reds entered play on Saturday with just 66 runs scored so far this season, the lowest such mark of any team in the game. They also entered play with just 19 doubles (fewest), one triple (five teams have zero), and 86 singles (second fewest), an indicator that they haven’t just struggled to cross the plate, they’ve struggled to hit the ball in the field of play altogether.
Despite their .197 team average (last), they have socked 21 homers – tied for a respectable 12th so far this season.
In other words, they have been absolutely dependent upon hitting homers to score their runs in 2026, moreso than any other team out there. So, when they hit the road for Minneapolis this weekend and the temperatures and swirling winds suggested hitting anything over the wall would be near impossible, well, it was hard to muster much hope for this offense’s success given what we’ve seen so far.
It was with that in mind that their rally past the Twins on Saturday looked that much more special.
They trailed 2-0 early as starter Andrew Abbott struggled again with his command, and trailed 4-2 entering the Top of the 7th as Minnesota went to their bullpen. And though they rallied back for the win (thanks to the elite work of Brock Burke, Kyle Nicolas, and Tony Santillan at the back end of the ‘pen when other big names weren’t available), they did not do so with one big 3-run swing.
Instead, they got runners on, over, and in in each of the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, piecing together singles here, productive outs there, a key sac fly, and even a TJ Friedl sacrifice bunt to move the game’s winning run into scoring position.
It was a series of small-ball miracles, especially given the context of how this offense has operated (or not) through the season’s first 20 games. And, once again, the bullpen managed to slam the door at the end, something they’ve become brilliant with despite being banged up and overworked early on.
There’s a quiet swagger with this club, one perhaps highlighted perfectly at the end of the series with the San Francisco Giants when the Giants barking closer tried to start a ruckus after they won the finale of a series they’d already lost. The Reds, though, weren’t interested in fisticuffs and instead the barking turned into a standoff before a nothingburger. Cincinnati hit the showers, packed their bags, and moved on to the next thing on their docket: a series in Minnesota in poor weather than they knew they were more than capable of winning.
They’ve already won it, now. Next up is a chance for a series sweep on Sunday even though they still haven’t been playing their ‘best’ ball of the year.
Today, I think it’s time for Terry Francona’s first Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game. He’s got this club doing all the right things at the right times even though they still haven’t clicked just yet…and they’re still 13-8 on the season.
