SCOREBOARD WATCHING: Looking at Teams Reds are Chasing for Final Wild Card Spot

The Cincinnati Reds are fighting for a Wild Card spot as we move through the month of August. Here’s the upcoming obstacles in front of their key opponents in this race.

The New York Mets are right in front of the Reds, 1.5 games up, and are off on Monday. They begin a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday. New York definitely has the edge in the probable starters for this series as they are looking to end a seven-game losing streak.

The series kicks off with the Mets sending Clay Holmes (9-6, 3.46 ERA) to the mound to face the Braves’ Spencer Strider (5-9, 4.04). Day two features David Peterson (7-5, 2.98) for New York and Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 6.94) for Atlanta. The series ends with Kodai Senga (7-4, 2.30) facing Bryce Elder (4-9, 6.12). All three of these games will begin at 7:10 PM ET.

The San Diego Padres are in front of the Reds by 4.5 games and head up to the Bay Area to face the San Francisco Giants. The Padres are on a roll and the Giants are reeling, so this is an important series for San Diego to stack some wins.

The Padres will send You Darvish (1-3, 6.51) to the mound to face Logan Webb (10-8, 3.24) in the first game. Game two features newly minted San Diegan Nestor Cortes (1-1, 7.11 ERA) facing Robbie Ray (9-5, 2.85). Nick Pivetta (11-4, 2.94) will close out the series against a yet-to-be-named starter for the Giants. Each of Monday and Tuesday night’s games will begin at 9:45 PM ET while the third and final matchup will start at 3:45 PM ET on Wednesday.

The other current NL Wild Card team is the Chicago Cubs. They are six games up on the Reds, so it may seem like it’s unlikely that Cincinnati catches up. Just know that on June 17, the Cubs were six games up on the Brewers in the NL Central. We know how that’s gone.

So looking at the Cubbies, they take on the Toronto Blue Jays for three games after an off day on Monday. They have a distinct disadvantage I the probable starters area of this matchup.

The first game will see Ben Brown (5-7, 6.04) pitch for Chicago against Jose Berrios (8-4, 3.89) for Toronto. Cade Horton (6-3, 3.18) will start for the Northsiders on Wednesday against Kevin Gausman (8-8, 3.85). The series will conclude with Matt Boyd (11-5, 2.45) leading the Cubs against Max Scherzer (2-2, 4.21). The first two games will be at 7:07 PM ET on Tuesday and Wednesday with the final game beginning at 3:07 PM ET on Thursday.