The Cincinnati Reds did just enough against the Pittsburgh Pirates to keep their playoff dream alive but they’ll likely have to do better against the vaunted Milwaukee Brewers to see their dream realized. Doing better would almost certainly mean ending a years-long period of the Brewers tormenting the Reds.
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The Reds dropped two of three games to the Pirates at Great American Ball Park Sept. 23-25 but still managed to finish the series with a win on Sept. 25. That put the pressure back on the New York Mets, who Cincinnati is chasing for the final National League playoff berth. The Mets concluded their series with the Chicago Cubs Sept. 25 (7:40 p.m. ET).
Cincinnati needed help in order to retake control of their playoff fate, but they also need to end their slump against the Brewers. “I’ll be honest. It doesn’t really matter who we play right now. We don’t care,” Reds closer Emilio Pagán said. “We just want to finish strong and give ourselves an opportunity. Obviously, it’s going to be a talking point because of the history but we’re a different team. We’re a different team than when we last went to Milwaukee. We’re a different team than has been playing against them the last few years. We’ve got a lot of new faces, so while I understand the storyline, to us, it’s not really a point.”
It might actually be a point worth considering since this is a do-or-die situation for Cincinnati. After all, the Reds haven’t won a series against Milwaukee since August 2022, and have lost 32 of their last 42 games against the Brewers. Milwaukee also owned baseball’s best record as of Sept. 25 (96-63) and has already wrapped up its third consecutive NL Central division championship.
The Reds might be a different team, but the 2025 Reds struggled against the Brewers in similar ways to the 2024 and 2023 iterations of the Reds. Cincinnati has a 3-7 record against the Brewers this year, which includes a demoralizing Aug. 15 loss in which the Reds blew a seven-run lead.
Other Reds might more readily acknowledge the troubles the Brewers have given them. “They’ve had our number the last couple of years,” Spencer Steer said. “We go in there and beat them, that’d be pretty big for us. Excited for the opportunity.”
The upcoming series will be Cincinnati’s first visit to American Family Field since April 3-6, and the Reds lost three of four games that series.
The pitching matchups for Reds vs. Brewers
- Friday, Sept. 26: Reds RHP Zack Littell (10-8, 3.86 ERA) vs. Brewers RHP Quinn Priester (13-2, 3.25 ERA).
- Saturday, Sept. 27: Reds LHP Andrew Abbott (9-7, 2.80 ERA) vs. Brewers TBA.
- Sunday, Sept. 28: Reds LHP Brady Singer (14-10, 3.86 ERA) vs. Brewers TBA.
*This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why the Reds are unfazed by Brewers entering final series of 2025*