The Cincinnati Reds, against all odds, won two out of three games against the New York Yankees this week.
It’s shocking because the Reds are last in the NL Central division with a lousy 34-55 record and the Yankees boast the best record in baseball at 62-27.
But as we have said a thousand times, baseball is full of surprises: otherwise, if things were so predictable, it wouldn’t be played and fans wouldn’t watch it.
The series win against the Yankees had some historical implications for the Reds.
“From our pals @StatsBySTATS: this is only the 6th time in MLB history that a sub-.400 team won a road series vs a .700+ team (min 50 games into the season): 1906 Superbas/Cubs; 1928 Tigers/Yankees; 1939 Browns/Yankees; 1955 Pirates/Dodgers; 2001 Royals/Mariners; 2022 Reds/Yankees,” historian and statistician James Smyth tweeted.
From our pals @StatsBySTATS: this is only the 6th time in MLB history that a sub-.400 team won a road series vs a .700+ team (min 50 games into the season)
1906 Superbas/Cubs
1928 Tigers/Yankees
1939 Browns/Yankees
1955 Pirates/Dodgers
2001 Royals/Mariners
2022 Reds/Yankees— James Smyth (@JamesSmyth621) July 15, 2022
The Reds Attacked The Yanks’ Bullpen
The Reds couldn’t solve starter Nestor Cortes Jr., but attacked the Bombers’ vaunted bullpen and found a way to manufacture some runs.
The game went to extras thanks to a game-tying home run by infielder Gleyber Torres in the bottom of the eighth.
However, a Joey Votto double in the top of the tenth frame against the usually effective Lucas Luetge sealed the deal for the Reds.
Since their 3-22 start of the season, the Reds are 31-33: still mediocre, but much closer to a .500 team than the Triple-A version they showed the world in the early days of the 2022 campaign.
Still, they are widely expected to be sellers come the trade deadline, and they have a couple of pieces that could interest the Yanks: Luis Castillo is the primary one.
Now that Luis Severino went down with a shoulder injury, the Yankees could really, really use Castillo.
Only time will tell if he will make it to the Bronx.
NEXT: Reds Snap An Elite Yankees Streak With A Comeback Win