Cincinnati Reds: Scooter Gennett’s pursuit of batting title is must-see TV

Scooter Gennett’s quest to win the batting title is the most compelling story on the team as the Cincinnati Reds enter the final stretch of the season.

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett has had one of the more improbable runs in Major League Baseball over the last two years. His quest to win the National League batting title is the most compelling story on the team as the Reds hope to close the 2018 season on a high note.

Scooter Gennett, trailing Milwaukee Brewers’ All-Star Christian Yelich by one point for the NL batting title entering Monday’s game, showed why this will be a race to finish line. The Reds’ All-Star second baseman went 4-of-5 in the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers and had 3 RBIs.

Scooter had four straight hits to start the night, beginning with a line drive to right field to score Joey Votto from second base. After a single squeezed through the right side of the infield during Gennett’s leadoff at-bat in the third inning, he racked up his second RBI of the evening with an almost identical groundball past the diving Dodger’s second baseman to score Jose Peraza in the bottom of the fourth.

Gennett’s second RBI of the night, like so many this season, came with two outs in the inning. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the Dodgers intentionally walked Eugenio Suarez to get to Gennett. I know, that’s not smart baseball.

After the Dodgers had inched closer and closed the gap to three runs, Gennett did it again. With Peraza 90 feet away on third base, the Reds’ MVP (I hope there’s no debate over this) looped a line drive into left field to score Peraza and record his third RBI of the night. Did I mention, he did this with two outs?

Gennett’s 4-for-5 performance, combined with a 1-for-4 night from Yelich, pushed Gennett back into the lead for the National League leader in batting average. Gennett bumped his average to .316, and Christian Yelich dropped to .315. This will be as tight a race as there is in the NL coming down the stretch.

Gennett’s four hits still landed him in third place, where he began the day, in pursuit of the National League lead in hits. Currently, that honor is held by Atlanta Braves outfielder Nick Markaikas with 172 hits on the season. His teammate, Freddie Freeman, is in second place with 171. Gennett (170), along with his teammate Peraza (165) are in hot pursuit of the Atlanta duo.

Gennett is trying to become the first member of the Cincinnati Reds since 1973 to win the National League batting crown. That year, Pete Rose took home the title, much like the Hit King did in 1968 and 1969.

In a season that’s lost, where fans are just hoping to see their team not lose 90 games, let’s focus our attention on something that could be very unique. Scooter Gennett, who was let go by the Brewers, came home to Cincinnati, and molded himself into an All-Star, is now leading the National League in hitting.

Gennett is waiting to see if the Cincinnati Reds offer him an extension this offseason, and it appears increasingly likely that the Reds brass will do just that. Gennett is a special player, and one the Reds can build around for years to come.