Reds sweep the Cubs and take control of the third Wild Card

Cincinnati. – The Reds refuse to give up and delivered a blow of authority this Sunday by completing the sweep over the Chicago Cubs with a 1-0 victory at Great American Ball Park. With this win, Cincinnati reached five consecutive victories and took possession of the third and last Wild Card spot in the National League. You may be interested in: Jonrón by Fernando Tatis Jr. brings Padres closer to the postseason The offensive hero was Gavin Lux, who hit a run-scoring double in the third inning to drive in the only run of the game. “We’ve worked hard as a team, we’ve been through injuries, ups and downs. Turning it on at this moment is great. We deserve it,” Lux said after the victory. Starter Andrew Abbott worked 4.2 scoreless innings, but the bullpen was the key. Nick Martinez earned the win with 2.1 solid innings, followed by Graham Ashcraft in the eighth and Tony Santillán, who earned his seventh save despite giving up two walks in the ninth. “This was the most important series of the season so far, and we have a couple more big ones ahead,” noted Martinez, highlighting the team’s mentality. With a record of 80-76, the Reds tied the Mets in the fight for the last Wild Card, but they have the advantage of the direct tiebreaker after taking the series between the two. In addition, Cincinnati also has an advantage in the tiebreaker against Arizona, another direct rival in the fight. The atmosphere in the stadium exploded in the seventh inning when the final score of the Mets’ defeat against the Nationals appeared on the scoreboard. The 29,661 fans celebrated knowing that, for the first time in weeks, the Reds’ fate depends solely on them. “We always believed in each other and we were never going to give up without a fight,” said Santillán. “This triumph meant a lot, but now we have to finish strong.” After a day off on Monday, the Reds will host the Pittsburgh Pirates in a crucial series that includes the duel between Hunter Greene and Cy Young candidate, Paul Skenes. Then they will close the regular season visiting the division leaders, the Milwaukee Brewers. With six games remaining, Cincinnati has gone from practically being written off to controlling its destiny in the final stretch of the season.