Spencer Steer’s soggy heroics set up chance for a Reds sweep of Twins

Wednesday sees the two clubs face off in matinee action.

Spencer Steer swatted a 2-run homer in the opening frame of Tuesday’s game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Minnesota Twins.

The rain and thunder later swatted just as hard, sending the swing game between the two clubs at Great American Ball Park into a lengthy rain delay before the contest was finally called in favor of the Reds, 4-2, in the wee hours of the night.

Steer’s offensive heroics (2 for 2, HR, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI) were backed by an efficient Nick Lodolo, who tossed 6 innings of 2 ER ball on just 87 pitches, an outing that was good enough (and lengthy) enough to pick up a win (and a complete game designation). Bailey Ober of Minnesota, meanwhile, made it through 5.2 IP before the rains came in and shut down play, eventually ending things for good with 2 outs in the Bottom of the 6th.

That sets up Cincinnati, now 39-35 and 4 games over .500 for the first time all season, for a chance at a sweep on Thursday afternoon. They’ll be sending Nick Martinez to the bump to help spearhead that effort after already claiming victory in their fourth consecutive series.

Cincinnati opens play on Thursday just 0.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot in the National League, and if everything played out perfectly on the slate today they could wake up tomorrow morning the owners of a playoff position.

That’s insignificant in the grand, 162-game scheme of things, but certainly not in the ~100 game sprint to the July trade deadline. Cincinnati, while hot, is a team that still has flaws that need patching, and jostling their way into legitimate playoff contenders through 70-75 games gives Nick Krall and Co. a handful of weeks with which to shop for the best possible upgrades to the roster that they can possibly find.

Manager Terry Francona has helped the Reds reach that level after numerous early season stumbles, and they’re generally playing some pretty excellent baseball these days. A win Thursday to cap a sweep of the Twins would be another feather in their caps as they next head into a Who’s Who slate of foes on their schedule - the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies between today and July 6th, a stretch of games that truly might determine the overall direction of their 2025 season.