Reds have put themselves in position to keep the Mets out of the playoffs

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MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds have put themselves in position to earn their first playoff berth since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season while keeping the free-spending New York Mets out of the postseason.

Cincinnati’s 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers and New York’s 6-2 loss to the Miami Marlins on Friday enabled the Reds to tie the Mets for the National League’s third and final wild-card playoff berth. The Reds own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Mets, whose $322.6 million payroll at the start of the season led all MLB teams.

The Arizona Diamondbacks were eliminated from contention for that final wild-card berth with their 7-4 loss to the San Diego Padres.

“Obviously I think we can start to feel it a little bit, but at the same time, we’ve got to take care of business,” Cincinnati’s Gavin Lux said. “We’re not there yet still. We’ve just got to keep trying to win every pitch and take it game by game. We all know how fast things can change.”

Cincinnati hasn’t been more than seven games above .500 at any point this season and has gone just 15-18 over its last 33 games. Yet the Reds have still played well enough to catch the Mets, who have lost 16 of their last 25 games.

The Mets were 45-24 and had the best record in the majors on June 12, but they’ve gone 37-54 since.

“We’ve put ourselves in this position,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters after their Friday night loss in Miami. “Here we are. We’ve got to come back tomorrow and the next day now. We’ve got to win the next two and see what happens.”

The Reds (82-78) are seeking to make the playoffs in a non-pandemic season for the first time since 2013. They haven’t won a postseason game since 2012 and haven’t won a playoff series since 1995.

They finally might get back to the postseason with help from guys who are accustomed to this stage.

Lux, who won World Series rings with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020 and 2024, doubled twice and scored the go-ahead run Friday. Reds manager Terry Francona led the Boston Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007, and he brought Cleveland to Game 7 of the 2016 Fall Classic.

The 66-year-old Francona spent a year away from the game for health reasons before taking over the Reds this season.

“This is as exciting as it gets,” Francona said. “To not admit that you’re nervous, I think that would be wrong. I’m nervous as hell.”

The Reds’ path to a rare postseason bid means getting past their recent nemesis.

Cincinnati has lost each of its last 13 series with the Milwaukee Brewers. Ending that streak just might catapult the Reds into the playoffs.

“It’d be kind of the perfect time to do it,” Reds reliever Tony Santillan said. “Season on the line, beat them, win against them and advance to the postseason by beating them. I feel like it’s been a while.”

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