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

If the Cincinnati Reds are to make to the playoffs this season, they're going to need some help. The Reds are sitting on the outside looking in at the moment with a record of 80-77.

Cincinnati has to take care of their own business against the Cleveland Guardians and St. Louis Cardinals this week, but but in order to make their postseason dreams a reality, David Bell's squad will need a few other teams to knock off their rivals.

The Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, and Chicago Cubs all sit above Cincinnati in the standings as play begins on Tuesday. So who should Reds fans be cheering for this week?

Reds fans should be rooting Dusty Baker's Astros this week.

Reds fans have probably been so fixated on the race for the NL Wild Card that they've paid little attention to what's going on in the American League. What if I told you that, at the moment, the Houston Astros are clinging to a half-game lead in the AL Wild Card with six games to go.

Better yet, did you know that Seattle Mariners own the tiebreaker over the Astros and host the defending World Champions for three games this week? Dusty Baker's squad is in trouble and they're going to need every game down the stretch.

That's good news for the Cincinnati Reds, because the Astros travel to the desert later this week to battle the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-backs a hold slight edge in the NL Wild Card, and with the head-to-head advantage over the Chicago Cubs, own the tiebreaker over David Ross' team.

But the Reds have the head-to-head advantage over the Diamondbacks, meaning if Cincinnati and Arizona have identical records at the end of the year, the tiebreaker goes to the Redlegs. Fans of the Cincinnati Reds should be cheering on the club's former manager and the Houston Astros this weekend.

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.