Cincinnati Reds' Chances of Winning NL Central Far From Over, Despite Poor Stretch in May

The Reds are still in the NL Central race, despite struggling for the first three weeks of May.

May 26, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Alexis Diaz (43) reacts after the victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports / Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

The Cincinnati Reds are seemingly emerging from what has been a very challenging three week stretch of bad baseball. Even with their extreme slide, the Reds aren’t that far out of the NL Central race. In fact, their position compares with one of the elite teams in the National League.

An eight-game losing streak, followed by two separate three-game losing streaks, put the Reds in quite a hole. It has not derailed them though, as the NL Central did not take a huge step past them.

After winning four-straight games, the Reds are 7.5 games behind the first place Milwaukee Brewers. This gap is comparable to the deficit the Atlanta Braves face with the Philadelphia Phillies. 

The Braves have dealt with two huge injuries that have sidelined Ronald Acuna Jr., the favorite to win NL MVP, and Spencer Strider, the favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award. Still, they are firmly in the race for the World Series and figure to be there all year. They are in second place and are six games back of first place.

I don’t point this out to say that the Reds and Braves are the Spider-Man GIF as far as their rosters are concerned, but to point out the fact that the Reds are in the perfect division to rebound from the kind of rough patch they’ve endured. 

The Reds need to continue this turnaround and avoid another collapse if they hope to compete for the division. The NL Central is still there for the taking, though. These last three-plus weeks have felt like rock bottom, and yet the Reds are still in this thing.

They play the Cardinals on Tuesday night at 6:40 p.m. ET.

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