The Reds ended the difficult period with a loss to the Mariners

Cincinnati – As the Reds wrapped up their series against the Mariners on Wednesday, they had a lot of good news ahead of them as well as some bad news.

First, the bad news. The Reds suffered an 8-4 loss to the Mariners as Seattle avoided a three-game series sweep at Great American Ball Park.

Now here’s some good news: Cincinnati’s upcoming schedule.

Of the Reds’ 20 matches remaining, only three are against a team with a winning record. They’re playing those games against the Twins September 18-20 at GABP. Based on the opponent’s winning percentage, Cincinnati has the easiest remaining game schedule of all the National League clubs.

“As a team, we don’t take on a different team based on their record,” said Reds coach David Bell. “And with that way of looking at things, not only does it get easier. But also at some point, you expect some breaks in terms of some of the things we’ve dealt with for the last couple of weeks that we can’t do.” Go back and change.”

What doesn’t help the Reds in a tiebreaker scenario in Miami is that they are 18-25 against their NL Central rivals – including 4-3 against St. Louis and 4-6 against Pittsburgh. Marlins 19-21 vs. NL East.

More bad news: there are no more matches against any of the Wild Card contenders. Besides winning as many games as possible, the Reds will likely need some help.

The latest bad news: The Reds are done with playing against American League West teams for the rest of the season. Including Wednesday’s loss, the Reds won 13-2 against those clubs.

“I looked at the schedule, too,” said right fielder Will Benson, who was going 3-for-4 with a solo homer in the ninth inning. “My point of focus, especially with these types of teams that ‘really in the qualifying game’, we have to knock them out as soon as possible. (He) understands that they might give up if we do four (runs) early in the game.

“She really shows up and shows no mercy. We really don’t have time to mess around.”

Back to the good news: The Reds have just ended one of the most tumultuous challenges of their season. They went 9-8 over 17 games that included a trip to the West Coast for three cities, a nine-hour charter flight delay due to mechanical issues, and two doubleheaders while playing fellow Wild Card contenders – the D-Linebackers, Giants and Cubs.

More good news: Cincinnati may experience the worst disruption on the list due to four COVID-19 cases and infections. Since Friday, the club has made 27 different roster moves – including call-ups of rookies and players from minor leagues.

After Wednesday’s game and before enjoying a scheduled day off on Thursday, Bale moved around the Reds clubhouse. He individually praised his players for surviving what could have been an extension of the team.

“I think we handled it the best we could,” said quarterback TJ Friedel. Our attack has finally turned the page and we are playing the way we used to play. The most important thing for us now is to take it game by game, start from there and let the rest take care of itself.”

Now for the best news: Starting pitcher Hunter Green, the first Reds member to have a reported case of coronavirus, is scheduled to start Sunday against the Cardinals. Green returned to the field on Wednesday to train with the club for the first time since he was acquitted. Cincinnati must also recover reliever Fernando Cruz on Friday in the series opener against St. Louis.

And Bale indicated that another patient with the Corona virus, left player Brandon Williamson, is suffering from his worst symptoms and is training again away from the club.

Second baseman Jonathan India, who has been out since July 30 with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, will start his rehab assignment Friday with Triple-A Louisville. If all goes well, India could be revitalized ahead of the three-match series on Tuesday in Detroit.

“We have a long way to go. We have a lot to do,” said Bale. “We’ve been through a lot over the past week or two. We all thought it was cool to get through it the way we did. Tomorrow, it’s really important to enjoy the day off and then get back to work.