When the Cincinnati Reds beat the San Diego Padres on a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth inning on July 1, Reds first baseman Joey Votto told shortstop Kyle Farmer and catcher Tyler Stephenson they just saved the Reds' season with their RBI that gave the team the lead.
Over two months later, in the Reds game on Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati was three games back in the NL Wild Card race. The Pirates took an early five-run lead. In the series opener against one of the worst teams in baseball, the season was approaching the brink.