The Cincinnati Reds are an unstoppable winning mechanism that wins winningly

Joey Votto did not sock a homer in any of his trips to the plate, and starter Wade Miley exited early in a fury after walking and plunking the Miami Marlins back into a tie ballgame.

It was the kind of kerflufflery that, in many years, could have derailed the Cincinnati Reds from the chugging they’ve been doing of late. Instead, chug right along they did.

Nick Castellanos slugged a 2-run tater, Tyler Naquin continued his absurdly hot streak with a 3-hit night, and a big ol’ 2-run pinch-hit double from Tyler Stephenson helped lead the Reds to another win over Miami, this time in 7-4 fashion.

Kyle Farmer was on base another pair of times. Shogo Akiyama made a tremendous catch to rob the Marlins of runs immediately after being double-switched into CF. The bullpen even managed to pick up Mychal Givens in a rare fumble of an appearance, and the entirety of the team effort once again appeared to be something that wasn’t a one night stand - rather, this is a club that appears to smell blood in the water and is coming together as a result.

The Reds are now 11 games over .500, and if the Philadelphia Phillies can hold off the San Diego Padres this evening, that’ll mean the Reds will be in sole possession of a playoff spot for the first time all season (unless they did in the first week, which [insert who cares noise]).

Go Reds. Go back Vlad Gutierrez tomorrow at 1:10 PM and do it all over again.