Reds in rare territory with 18 wins in their last 22 games

De La Cruz also showed off his switch-hitting ability, collecting three hits from the right side. He’s still hitting .194 (6-for-31) as a a right-hander facing a left-hander as opposed to .356 as a left-hander facing a right-hander, but it was a good step.

“That was huge today,” De La Cruz told reporters in his postgame interview. “I’m glad for the results. Batting right-handed, things went well for us. Hopefully, it will continue

De La Cruz helped lift the Reds to an 8-4 victory against the Washington Nationals. At 47-39, the Reds improved to eight games over .500 for the first time this season and moved a game in front of the Milwaukee Brewers (46-40) in the National League Central Division. The Reds could become the first team in big-league history to win their division after losing at least 100 games the previous season.

The Reds won their third straight game, improving to 18-4 in their last 22 games. A 12-game winning streak started this run, which is the best 22-game stretch for the Reds since 2012. Only four Reds teams have won more than 18 games in a 22-game stretch since 1901.

In four seasons, the Reds have gone 19-3 in a 22-game span. Here’s a glance at those teams.

2012: The last Reds team to win the division started its most dominant stretch with a 6-0 victory on the road against the San Diego Padres on July 6. That started a six-game winning streak. The Reds won 10 games in a row later that month. By Aug. 4, the Reds had won 22 of 25 games.

1975: A team that would win the World Series was 22-3 from June 18 to July 13. It had winning streaks of six and 10 games in that stretch.

1957: From April 30, when the Reds started a 12-game winning streak, to May 23, the Reds improved their record from 4-7 to 23-10. They contended for the National League championship until late July. An 8-20 record in August doomed them, and they finished 80-74.

1940: The second Reds team to win the World Series finished 100-53-2 in the regular season thanks in part to a 19-3 stretch in July and a 19-2 stretch, which included a tie, from Aug. 31 to Sept. 21.

THURSDAY’S GAME

Reds at Nationals, 1:05 p.m., Bally Sports Ohio, MLB Network, 700, 1410