Reds Playoff Odds: Winning streak offers hope ahead of crucial series vs. KC Royals

A lot of Reds fans had their favorite team dead and buried as recently as last weekend. Can you blame them? The Cincinnati Reds had just been run out of Milwaukee with their tail tucked between their legs after dropping 2-of-3 to the Brewers.

But the Cincinnati faithful are waking up on Thursday morning with renewed optimism after the Reds took out their frustrations on the St. Louis Cardinals. The Redlegs swept the Cards right out of the Queen City and supplanted St. Louis as the second-best team in the NL Central.

A power-packed performance from both TJ Friedl and Jonathan India on Wednesday night, plus a stellar outing from the Reds bullpen, pushed Cincinnati into second place in the division behind the Brew Crew. But how close are the Reds to making a playoff push?

Reds Playoff Odds: Winning streak offers hope ahead of crucial series vs. KC Royals

According to FanGraphs, the Reds playoff odds are sitting at just 4.8%. That's a slight improvement from a week ago when Cincinnati's playoff hopes were even lower. Strangely, despite the fact the two teams have identical records and the Reds hold the tiebreaker at the moment, the Cardinals still have a better chance to make the MLB Postseason.

But the so-called Show Me homestand with visits from the Cardinals and Kansas City Royals is only halfway over. Another Missouri-based ball club will make a visit to Great American Ball Park on Friday night when Bobby Witt Jr. and the Royals roll into Cincinnati.

On the plus-side, the Reds will miss two of the Royals best starters during the upcoming three-game set. Both Seth Lugo Cole Ragans will miss the upcoming series. The Reds will have to stare down old friend Michael Lorenzen, former Cardinals' hurler Michael Wacha, and University of Florida product Brady Singer.

The Reds need to keep riding this wave of success with the upstart Royals making a stop at GABP. Cincinnati will then take a road trip north of border early next week to play the Toronto Blue Jays followed by a four-game series against NL Central rival, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Reds are by no means back, but they're also not out of it. The Reds need some help courtesy of the teams in front of them. If the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, and San Francisco Giants could start losing a few games, that'd be great.

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