The St. Louis Cardinals came in to Cincinnati to claim back first place in the division from the Reds. They may have done much more than that.
It wasn’t even close. In the three game series, the Cardinals outscored the Reds 21-8. Forget about the infamous basebrawl of game two—the Cards hit the Reds hard and often.
This could be the single most pivotal point in the season for the Reds. How they react, bounce back, or fade away between now and September 3rd will determine the whole season.
Why September 3rd?
That’s the next and last time these two teams will meet during the regular season. If the Reds can stay within three games either way, the September 3rd three-game series will replace this series as THE series of the year.
If they pull away between now and then, all the better. If they fade back by three to six games…that would be their last chance to get back in it.
The Reds can do it. They have an exciting team and an offense to be proud of. On top of that, for the most part, their pitching has been pretty good overall.
And, as I’m sure most of you are aware of, the Reds have the “easiest” schedule during the second half of the season. But lest you forget, (or just didn’t know), the Cardinals have the second “easiest” schedule…
Regardless, it’s going to be either really fun or really painful to watch what happens the next several weeks.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com