Reds: Where they stand in playoff race with 10 days remaining

Reds start series against White Sox on Friday
Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto, back left, Freddy Galvis, second from left, Mike Moustakas, middle, and Jose Garcia celebrate after the Reds defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 in a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto, back left, Freddy Galvis, second from left, Mike Moustakas, middle, and Jose Garcia celebrate after the Reds defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 in a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)
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Sept 18, 2020
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Major League Baseball’s regular season ends in 10 days. Here’s where the Cincinnati Reds, who are seeking their first postseason berth in seven years, stand in the playoff picture:

Last game: The Reds (25-26) were off Thursday. They beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 on Wednesday, completing a four-game sweep at Great American Ball Park and extending their season-best winning streak to five games in a row. The Reds are one game under .500 for the first time since they were 8-9 on Aug. 11. They have not had a .500 record since they were 1-1.

Division race: The Cardinals (22-24) lost 5-1 to the Pirates on Thursday, allowing the idle Reds to move into second place in the National League Central by a half game.

The top two teams in each division make the playoffs. The Reds trail the first-place Chicago Cubs (30-20) by 5½ games.

» FOUR REASONS: Why the Reds have returned to contention

Wild-card race: The top two teams in each league with the next best records, outside the top two teams in each division, also make the expanded 16-team playoffs. The Reds trail the San Francisco Giants (25-24) by one game and are tied with the Philadelphia Phillies (24-25).

If the season ended today: According to MLB.com’s postseason standings, the Reds would be the No. 6 seed. That would match them up with the No. 3 seed Atlanta Braves (29-21), who would host the best-of-three wild-card series starting Sept. 30.

» STRONG START: Tecumseh grad pitches well for Pirates vs. Reds

The odds: According to FanGraphs.com, the Reds have a 54.7 percent chance of making the playoffs. They have a 0.1 percent chance of winning the division, a 27.9 percent chance of finishing second and a 26.7 percent chance of winning a wild card.

Road ahead: The Reds start a three-game series at home against the Chicago White Sox (33-17) at 7:10 p.m. Friday and close the season next week with three home games against the Milwaukee Brewers (23-26), who trail the Reds aby one game, and three road games against the Minnesota Twins (31-21).

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David Jablonski covers the Dayton Flyers and other sports for the Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun and Journal News.