by Chris Ball

Loveland, Ohio – The Reds may have fallen to the Twins on Thursday afternoon, but they have absolutely turned their season around these past four series. They are 9-3 over that span, batting .276 and they’ve averaged almost 6 runs per game. Cincinnati has swept the Diamondbacks and taken the series against two of the American League’s best (on the road) against the Tigers and Guardians.

They’ve gotten plenty of help from the usual suspects. Elly De La Cruz is hitting .295 in his last 12 and he is slugging .636. TJ Friedl is getting on base at a .389 clip.

But it’s some struggling Reds who are beginning to raise some eyebrows and show some signs of a turnaround. None more so than Matt McLain who is hitting .308 during this 12 game window, with two home runs and seven RBIs. He’s hit safely in 10 of those last 12 and he’s seeing the ball better, walking five times. And McLain’s defensive skills have been on prime display as well, in addition to his offensive renaissance.

Spencer Steer has had his issues this year but this little run has seen him hit .268 with 11 hits in those 12 games. He’s collected seven RBIs of his own.

And no Reds recap would be complete without a dive into the dominant year Andrew Abbott is having. He’s 6-1 on the year with a miniscule ERA of 1.84. His command has been exceptional this season and he is a stabilizing force for this rotation.

All of this has been accomplished with key players out due to injury. Imagine what this team can accomplish when we see the return of Hunter Greene, Austin Hays, Noelvi Marte, and Graham Ashcraft? Their talents combined with the improving play of McLain, Steer, and others could be the boost this team needs to make a playoff push in 2025.

After the offensive difficulties this club had earlier in the year, such hope seemed like a fool’s errand. But to their credit the Reds never folded and kept their composure through it all. They are 39-36, three games over .500 and with a crucial series against bitter rival St. Louis on the horizon.

They don’t have to win every game going forward, they simply need to do what they’ve been doing: win the series, play consistent complimentary baseball, and stay the course.

If they can keep doing that, the dog days of summer are going to be much easier to bear. 

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Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.

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