Clinching opportunity: The Reds can clinch a playoff spot as early as Friday night if three things happen. 1. The Reds beat the Minnesota Twins. 2. The Philadelphia Phillies lose to the Tampa Bay Rays. 3. And the Milwaukee Brewers lose at least one of two games to the St. Louis Cardinals or two losses by the San Francisco Giants to the San Diego Padres.
Last game: The Reds (29-28) beat the Brewers 6-1 on Wednesday in the final home game of the season at Great American Ball Park. The Reds won the series 2-1. They have won 10 of their last 13 games.
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Big picture: There are six teams competing for the four remaining playoff spots: the Cardinals (28-26); Miami Marlins (29-28); Reds (29-28); San Francisco Giants (28-28); Phillies (28-29); and Brewers (27-29).
Central Division race: The top two teams in each division make the playoffs. The Cardinals beat the Brewers 4-2 on Thursday and moved a half game in front of the Reds. The Brewers trail the Cardinals by two games.
The first-place Chicago Cubs (32-25) lead the Cardinals by three games.
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Wild-card race: The top two teams in each league with the next best records, outside the top two teams in each division, also make the expanded 16-team playoffs. The Reds and Giants lead the wild-card race entering the final weekend.
The Giants lost 5-4 in 11 innings to the Colorado Rockies on Thursday, falling one half game behind the Reds. The Phillies (28-29) trail the Giants by a half game. The Brewers trail the Giants by one game.
If the season ended today: The Reds would be the No. 7 seed. They would play the No. 2 seed Atlanta Braves (34-23) in the best-of-three wild-card series, which starts Wednesday for National League teams.
The odds: According to FanGraphs.com, the Reds have an 88.0 percent chance of making the playoffs. They have 22.8 percent chance of finishing second in the division and a 65.2 percent chance of winning a wild card.
Road ahead: The Reds were off Thursday. They close the regular season with three games on the road against the Minnesota Twins (33-22), starting at 8:10 p.m. Friday.
The Cardinals and Brewers play a doubleheader Friday and then play again Saturday and Sunday. The Cardinals also may have to make up two games against the Detroit Tigers (22-32) next week.
The Giants finish the season with four home games against the Padres.
The Phillies finish the season with three games at the Tampa Bay Rays.
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