Despite an inconsistent season spent mostly below .500, the Cincinnati Reds believed a hot streak was inevitable.
It appears one is finally brewing.
Cincinnati has won four straight games to creep back into postseason contention entering Friday’s opener of a three-game interleague series against the visiting Kansas City Royals.
“We’re clicking at the right time,” Reds outfielder TJ Friedl said. “Now is a great time to play your best baseball.”
Cincinnati has closed within 4 1/2 games of the National League’s final wild-card spot thanks to their longest win streak since a seven-game run from June 2-8. The Reds have been as many as 10 games below .500 this season, but a win Friday would propel them back to an even record for the first time since they were 16-16 on May 3.
“We’ve kind of said it all year, and it can kind of get stale. I’m sure it’s frustrating for fans to hear, ‘We’re going to go on our run, and other teams will start to struggle.’ It’s kind of the nature of the season,” Cincinnati right-hander Emilio Pagan said. “It does kind of feel like we’re starting to flip the script a little bit.”
Power and pitching have fueled the Reds’ win streak. Cincinnati has slugged more homers (11) than it has allowed runs (seven) over its last four games.
Friedl and Jonathan India both homered twice for the Reds in Wednesday’s 9-2 home win over the St. Louis Cardinals. India had three hits to snap an 0-for-23 slump.
Cincinnati will dig in on Friday against Kansas City right-hander Michael Lorenzen (5-6, 3.79 ERA), who pitched for the Reds from 2015-21.
Lorenzen has allowed four runs over 10 innings in two starts for the Royals since being traded from the Texas Rangers. He last pitched on Friday, when he surrendered three runs on six hits — including two homers — over 4 1/3 innings in Kansas City’s 8-5 home loss to the Cardinals.
The Royals split the two-game series against St. Louis before dropping two of three against the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis. Kansas City is 4-6 since a five-game winning streak and enters Thursday holding the American League’s final wild-card spot.
Paul DeJong continued his hot start with the Royals by delivering three hits, including a home run, in Kansas City’s 4-1 win at Minnesota on Wednesday. The eighth-year infielder is batting .320 with a 1.000 OPS in 10 games with the Royals since being acquired from the Chicago White Sox.
DeJong has enjoyed his role helping Kansas City bid for its first playoff appearance since 2015.
“It’s been a fun group. I’m happy to be here. It’s been fun playing with these guys, trying to get a win every day. I think that’s really what the process is about … trying to find a way each day,” DeJong said.
“Each day, someone new is going to be the hero, so you just gotta go into the game with positive intentions and go and play your best.”
The Royals will face Cincinnati right-hander Nick Martinez (6-5, 3.16) on Friday. Martinez is coming off his best start of the year, when he stymied the Milwaukee Brewers over seven scoreless frames in the Reds’ 1-0 road loss on Saturday. He allowed one hit and fanned seven.
The seventh-year veteran has a 2.08 ERA in five appearances (two starts) against Kansas City. Lorenzen, meanwhile, allowed five runs in six innings in his lone career start against the Reds, a loss on April 27 while with Texas.
–Field Level Media