When September began, the Reds were given a 13 percent chance of qualifying for the post-season and many felt they should fold their hands and toss in the cards.
And now it is 100 percent.
With a 7-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night, combined with losses by the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers, the Reds barged their way into the postseason.
They are post-season qualifiers for the first time since 2013 and are playing the best baseball of any team in the majors.
It was accomplished in grand fashion as they sprinted down the stretch — two of three from St. Louis, four straight over Pittsburgh, two of three from the Chicgo White Sox, two of three from Milwaukee. And the clincher in Minnesota — 11-3 when it counted most.
Their work isn’t done. They have qualified as a wild card team, but they still can overtake the St. Louis Cardinals for second place in the National League Central and grab a higher seed for the playoffs.
The Twins seemed an insurmontable obstacle because they were 235 at Target Field, including 156 this month.
To the Reds on this night they were just another Pittsbugh Pirates in different color uniforms.
The Reds used a familiar format to put this one away — three home runs, two by Mike Moustakas, who drove in three of his team’s first five runs.
The tension was taut for eight innings as the Reds led by 4-2, but they added three in the top of the ninth to enable them to exhale and await the celebration.
Reds starter Tyler Mahle pitched out of pending disaster in the first inning when he walked two and gave up a bloop single to fill the bases with one out. Then he bowed his back and struck out Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano.
Freddy Galvis punched a single up the middle to lead the third, Cincinnati’s first hit. He moved to second on Tucker Barnhart’s grounder, but stayed there when Shogo Akiyama flied to center and Nick Castellanos struck out.
Mahle ran into a problem in the third, gave up a run, and was quickly hooked by manager David Bell.
Max Kepler led with a solid single to right and Ehire Adrianza doubled off the right center wall for a run. Adrianza entered the game in the second when third baseman Josh Donaldson left with an injury.
Mahle struck out Nelson Cruz on a 3-and-2 pitch and Bell removed him in favor of Michael Lorenzen. He twisted the spigot to off, retiring two straight on 3-and-2 pitches to leave it at 1-0.
The Reds grabbed a 2-1 lead in the fourth in a familiar pattern, a two-run home run by Moustakas. It followed a walk to Joey Votto.
Lorenzen courted potential disaster in the fourth when he gave up a one-out infield hit and a double to Mitch Garver, putting runners on third and second with one out. Lorenzen pulled the carpet, striking out Marwin Gonzalez and getting an inning-ending pop-up from Max Kepler.
The Reds struck with a long ball again when Galvis led off the fifth with a home run, the 21st straight run that came on home runs and a 3-1 Cincinnati lead.
The home run production finally ended in the fourth after the Galvis home run. Akiyama doubled and Castellanos singled him home for a 4-1 lead.
The Twins scored a run in the fifth and it stayed that way, 4-2, as they head into the bottom of the eighth.
Then tension on both sides was as thick as a San Francisco fog and it reached its zenith in the bottom of the eighth.
Reds relief pitcher Lucas Sims began with the eighth by hitting Byron Buxton in the batting helmet. Sims was visibly upset and Bell immediately removed him for Raisel Iglesias.
With one out, Jorge Polonco dropped a bloop double between left fielder Akiyama and third baseman Eugenio Suarez, again putting Twins runners on third and second with one out.
Iglesias went to 3-and-2 on Mitch Garver and struck him out. He went to 3-and-2 on Marwin Gonzalez and the inning ended on a fly to center.
The Twins had stranded 10 runners and gone 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position.
Moustakas then connected for his second home run of the game in the top of the ninth, a big, big insurance run and a 5-2 lead. But the Reds didn’t stop.
They added two more runs. Galvis singled home a run, his third hit. Akiyama singled home a run.
When it ended, the Reds slipped on red T-shirts that said, “Respect Cincinnati.” They’ve earned a trainload of respect for doing what nobody expected when the calendar turned to September.
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