» NEW EXPERIENCE: Garrett feels energy during first playoff race
Last game: The Reds (28-28) lost 3-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers (27-27) on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park.
Big picture: Six teams are competing for four remaining playoff spots: the St. Louis Cardinals (27-25), Miami Marlins (28-27), Reds, Brewers, Giants (27-27) and Phillies (27-29).
Central Division race: The Cardinals beat the Royals 5-0 and lead the Reds and Brewers by one game. The top two teams in each division make the playoffs. The Chicago Cubs (32-23) lead the division by 3½ games.
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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 Giants beat the Rockies 5-2 and are tied with the Reds and Brewers. The Phillies were swept in a doubleheader by the Nationals (23-32) and trail the Reds, Giants and Brewers by a game.
If the season ended today: According to MLB.com’s postseason standings, the Reds would be the No. 7 seed.
In a three-way tie between the Reds, Brewers and Giants, the teams' records within their own division would determine the seeding. The Reds are 20-19 against Central Division teams. The Brewers, who would earn the eighth and final playoff spot, are 17-17. The Giants, who would be left out of the playoffs, are 16-18 in the West Division.
The Reds would match up with the No. 2 seed Atlanta Braves (33-22), who would host the best-of-three wild-card series starting Sept. 30.
The odds: According to FanGraphs.com, the Reds have a 66.4 percent chance of making the playoffs. They have 10.3 percent chance of finishing second and a 56.0 percent chance of winning a wild card.
Road ahead: The Reds play the Milwaukee Brewers at 6:40 p.m. Wednesday in Cincinnati in the final game of the series. 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 one more game against the Royals (22-33) and then five against the Brewers. They also may have to make up two games against the Detroit Tigers (22-31) next week.
The Phillies play one more game at the Nationals (21-32) and then three more at the Tampa Bay Rays (36-20).
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