The Cincinnati Reds found themselves in a crucial spot on Labor Day.
On Monday afternoon in Cincy, the Reds took a 2-1 lead to the ninth inning, but then the Toronto Blue Jays scored three runs in the top half to go up 4-2.
The Reds can't afford slip ups like this in the NL Wild Card race.
But they had a crucial answer. Three runs in the bottom of the ninth, and a walk-off victory, keep the Reds in the hunt.
TJ Friedl started the rally with an RBI double to pull within one. And it was Noelvi Marte who pulled the walk-off, two-run single through the left side of the infield to win the baseball game.
Noelvi Marte walks it off for the @Reds in a WILD 9th inning in Cincinnati! 😳 pic.twitter.com/fhrnTUoJzE
— MLB (@MLB) September 1, 2025
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NL Wild Card standings
As of Monday afternoon, moments after the Reds had defeated the Blue Jays, this was how the Wild Card standings looked in the National League. The first three teams listed are the current qualifiers for the postseason as wild cards.
- Chicago Cubs (+5.0 games)
- San Diego Padres (+3.0 games)
- New York Mets
- Cincinnati Reds (3.5 GB)
- San Francisco Giants (5.0 GB)
The Diamondbacks and Cardinals are both 5.5 games back.
The Reds need one of the teams ahead of them to fall off in the season's final month to have a chance.
But all Cincinnati can do is keep winning and hope for the best. And on the first day of September, it may not have been pretty, but the Reds found a way.
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