What do the Cincinnati Reds need to do to end the season on a high note?

The season has definitely not gone how the Cincinnati Reds had hoped. What do the Reds need to do to end the season on a high note?

To say the Cincinnati Reds‘ season has been a disappointment would be an understatement. The Reds have now lost 90 games for the fourth consecutive season, and they’re in danger of having a worse record this season than they’ve had in the previous two. What do the Reds need to do to end the season on a high note?

Just win baby!

The easiest answer is to just win some games. The Reds were dreadful on the final road trip of the season, going 3-7 and scoring only 12 total runs in 10 games. While six of those games were against two of the best teams (Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers) in the National League, four were against the worst (Miami Marlins).

With a record of 66-91 (.420), the Reds will finish 2018 with their fifth consecutive losing season and haven’t won a postseason game since 2012. The Reds haven’t won a postseason series since they shocked the Oakland A’s in the 1990 World Series.

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The Reds will play their final five games at Great American Ball Park. Cincinnati takes on Kansas City, one of the worst teams in the American League, on Tuesday and Wednesday. They then finish the season against the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend.

The Reds are 2-0 against the Royals this season, scoring 12 runs and only allowing 1. Against Pittsburgh, however, Cincinnati is 4-12 only scoring an average of 3.19 runs per game. The Reds will have two of their best starters on the mound for the weekend series against Pittsburgh.

Wake up the offense!

The Reds offense has been atrocious lately. They’ve scored an average of 1.2 runs per game over the last 10 games. That can’t happen with the offensive weapons this team possesses. The Reds have three All-Stars and two of the top hitters, statistically, in the National League.

Both Scooter Gennett and Jose Peraza are in the Top 5 of the National League in total hits. Peraza has 177 on the season and leads the NL with 129 singles. Gennett trails Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis for the NL lead in hits, and trails only Peraza for NL lead in singles. He’s also second behind Christian Yelich for the NL batting title.

Joey Votto has had a solid, yet unspectacular 2018 campaign. While he leads the National League in on-base percentage, his average of .284 is the lowest since his injury-plagued season of 2014. The power is also missing this season from Votto, as he’s likely to finish the season with his lowest home run total since 2014 as well.

Eugenio Suarez, who has enjoyed a breakout season, has slowed down dramatically over the last several games. Geno is only 4 homers behind the National League leader, Matt Carpenter and trails Javier Baez for the league lead in RBIs by only 9.

However, over the last 15 games, Suarez is hitting .234 with 12 strikeouts in 47 at-bats. He has only 1 home run, and maybe more concerning, only 1 RBI during that 15 game stretch.

Scott Schebler has hit a wall as well. He’s hitting only .179 over the last 7 games. Phillip Ervin is 4-for-24 with only a .200 OBP over his last 7 games. And don’t even look at Billy Hamilton‘s stats. He has only 1 hit in the last 7 games. His batting average is .048 and his on-base percentage is .091. Yikes!

If the Cincinnati Reds have any thoughts of finishing 2018 on a high note, the offense has to pick up. The ability is there, so it comes down to the idea of execution.

Keep pitching consistently.

Yes, Reds fans, the starting pitching has not been the problem over the last several games. In fact, the starting pitchers over the last four games allowed only 7 earned runs over 24 innings. That’s a 2.63 ERA.

If the Cincinnati Reds’ starters continue to pitch well down the stretch, the bullpen has been more than reliable this season and can help close out games.

Starting pitching has been the Achilles heel of the Reds all season, but lately, pitchers like Luis Castillo and Cody Reed appear to have been putting it all together. If the Reds can get the same kind of pitching from their starters over the last five games that they’ve shown over the last week, the Redlegs have an opportunity to emerge victoriously.

Jim Riggleman has said he plans to continue to play his regulars, and who could blame him? He’s angling for a permanent job. This last week of the season could weigh heavily on the minds of the Reds’ brass as to whether or not to retain their interim manager into next season.