Pitiful sweep at the hands of the Pirates brings 100-loss season into play for the Reds

Well, it finally happened. The Cincinnati Reds reached a new low on Wednesday afternoon after falling to the Pittsburgh Pirates by a final of 10-4. The Reds loss to the Pirates makes it six straight and after being swept by the Buccos, the Redlegs are dangerously close to a 100-loss season with 20 games left to play.

At 56-86, the Reds now trail the St. Louis Cardinals, whom they'll face this weekend, by 27.5 games in the National League Central. Cincinnati will need to win seven of their next 20 games in order to avoid the futility of a 100-loss season. The only other time this has ever happened was back in 1982.

The Reds schedule doesn't get much easier with five games in four days versus the Cardinals. Cincinnati then returns home for two games against the Boston Red Sox and four against the Milwaukee Brewers before hitting the road again.

The Reds have 20 games remaining in the 2022 season.

The impending return of Graham Ashcraft and Hunter Greene should give the Reds fanbase a little hope that avoiding a 100-loss season is possible. Greene will be back on Saturday in St. Louis. Ashcraft, after tossing three innings in a rehab start for Double-A Chattanooga on Wednesday, could be back for the Reds homestand against the Red Sox.

But the pitching hasn't been the biggest problem of late. The Cincinnati bats have gone ice cold. During the latest series against the Pirates, the Reds scored eight runs in four games. Perhaps more than just Aristides Aquino, Jose Barrero, and Nick Senzel need to be making adjustments to their swings.

There is hope, as only nine of the Cincinnati Reds' final 20 games come against teams with a winning record. The Reds will not have Joey Votto, Tyler Stephenson, or Mike Moustakas for the final stretch of the 2022 campaign. All three are on the 60-day IL.

If the Reds are hoping to avoid the futility of a 100-loss season, it's going to be because of the young arms of Nick Lodolo, Graham Ashcraft, and Hunter Greene. Will these three rookie pitchers be able to keep their team in the games and hopefully score some runs down? There's just 20 games remaining.