5 teams Reds fans should be rooting for during the final week of the 2023 season

Reds fans should be rooting for these NL Central rivals this week.

Hard as it may be, Reds fans, you're going to have to pull for some of Cincinnati's bitter rivals to get some Ws this week. How the Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates play over the final week of the 2023 season will be key to the Reds' playoff aspirations.

The Brewers dropped 2-of-3 to the Miami Marlins, which didn't help the Reds playoff hopes. But, the Brew Crew can make it to David Bell's squad by taking out the Chicago Cubs this weekend. The Cubs visit American Family Field for three games to end the season.

Unfortunately, the Cubbies won't have to face all three of the Brewers' trio of All-Star starter in Freddy Peralta, Corbin Burnes, and Brandon Woodruff, but Craig Counsell might deploy one of the trio in Game 1 of the three-game series on Friday.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, who just took 2-of-3 from the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend, could really turn the tables on the Miami Marlins later this week. The Fish will finish their season on the road in the Steel City.

Pittsburgh hasn't fared well against Miami this season, but maybe Derek Shelton's bunch has a surprise in store for the Marlins. Of the three teams vying for those final two NL Wild Card spots, Miami is the only one who holds the tiebreaker over the Reds.