Reds: Where they stand in playoff race with five games left

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Last game: The Reds (28-27) beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 on Monday in the opener of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park. The Reds, who have won nine of their last 11 games, moved above .500 for the first time since they were 1-0 on Opening Day.

Central Division race: The Cardinals (26-25) lost 4-1 on the road to the Kansas City Royals, falling into a tie for second with the Reds. The Brewers (26-27) trail the Reds and Cardinals by a game.

The top two teams in each division make the playoffs. The Chicago Cubs (32-22) lead the division by 4½ games.

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 Phillies (27-27) lost 5-1 to the Washington Nationals, allowing the Reds to pass them in the wild-card race. The Giants (26-27), who lost 7-2 to the Colorado Rockies (24-29), and Brewers trail the Phillies by a half game.

If the season ended today: According to MLB.com’s postseason standings, the Reds would be the No. 7 seed. The Cardinals would be the No. 6 seed because they win a tiebreaker against the Reds. They won the season series 6-4.

The Reds would match up with the No. 2 seed Cubs, who would host the best-of-three wild-card series starting Sept. 30. The Phillies would be the No. 8 seed.

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The odds: According to FanGraphs.com, the Reds have a 77.0 percent chance of making the playoffs. Those are their best odds this season. They have 27.6 percent chance of finishing second and a 49.4 percent chance of winning a wild card.

Road ahead: The Reds play the Milwaukee Brewers at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday in Cincinnati and again on Wednesday at the same time They are off Thursday. They close the regular season with three games on the road against the Minnesota Twins (33-22), starting Friday.

The Cardinals play two more games against the Royals (22-32) and then five against the Brewers. They also may have to make up two games against the Detroit Tigers (22-30) next week.

The Phillies play three more games at the Nationals (21-32) and then three more at the Tampa Bay Rays (36-19).