The Cincinnati Reds woke up on Thursday morning having lost 9 of their previous 11 games. The results of games on Tuesday and Wednesday - both ugly losses - meant they’d already lost a home series to the lowly Chicago White Sox, and they’d sunk to a season-worst 4 games under the .500 mark.
The team cleared the air that day, with manager Terry Francona reportedly emphasizing all the simple, straightforward things the club needed to do with the bat to get back to their winning ways. A 7-1 win in the series finale against the Sox ensued, and the Reds rolled all that momentum into this weekend’s series against the Cleveland Guardians in the first contests of the 2025 Ohio Cup.