Marlins just handed Reds a shocking gift right before high-stakes Cardinals series

The Cincinnati Reds have a must-win series on the horizon against the St. Louis Cardinals. Winning a series is always important, but this may be one where anything less than a sweep is unacceptable.

The Reds head into Friday's matchup against the Cardinals and just have their heads above water in the NL Wild Card race. Cincinnati lost ground during their 10-day, nine-game road trip to the West Coast and are barely clinging to life with about a month left in the regular season.

The Reds, however, received a pleasant surprise courtesy of the Miami Marlins on Thursday evening. While the Reds were enjoying their off-day, they gained a half-game on the New York Mets after the Marlins walked away from Citi Field with a 7-4 victory. Cincinnati will need more of the same if they hope to make up even more ground in the Wild Card standings this weekend.

Marlins just handed Reds a shocking gift right before high-stakes Cardinals series

After watching the Mets dismantle the Philadelphia Phillies — one of the best teams in the entire National League — it was rather surprising to see the lowly Marlins take Game 1 of a four-game series against New York. The Fish capitalized on three Mets' errors and walked away with the win.

An error during a routine play in the third inning opened the door for Miami to plate a total of three runs — two of which were unearned. Multiple miscues in the seventh inning allowed the Marlins to tack on three more runs and Miami held on for the win.

The Mets looked like the Reds on Thursday night — and not in a good way. New York managed four runs on seven hits, but also struck out 10 times. But it was the three errors that really stuck out.

Rather than head into their series against the Cardinals sitting five games back in the NL Wild Card standings, Cincinnati trails New York by just four games. If the Reds can put together a solid effort against their division rival, while the Mets continue to flounder against the Marlins, perhaps they can creep a little closer to that final playoff spot.

It's truly a two-team race at this point. The Reds (68-66) are four games back of the Mets (72-62) with the San Diego Padres (75-59) three games clear. The Reds' playoff odds have dipped all the way down to just 4.6% according to FanGraphs, but perhaps Thursday's off-day and a Mets' loss will help rejuvenate Cincinnati's spirit heading into Friday's contest against the Cardinals.

More Cincinnati Reds News and Rumors