ATLANTA -- Terry Francona knows this time of year is supposed to feel different.
Instead of lining up a postseason run, the Reds manager was talking about golf plans with friends and babysitting a grandkid after Cincinnati was eliminated. That’s not the October routine he’s built around for most of his career, and he said it plainly before Wednesday’s game against Atlanta.
“I hate to sound so jealous," Francona said before Wednesday's game vs. Atlanta.
"You look across the field, the Braves are getting ready. The Cubs, Dodgers, they’re all making these plans.
The Brewers, the way they’re handling their rotation and things like that. … You miss that a lot.
“There’s a lot of anxiety, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
The Reds’ season didn’t go the way they wanted, and neither did Andrew Abbott’s follow-up to his 2025 All-Star campaign. But the left-hander at least closed his 2026 season looking much more like himself.
Abbott worked a season-high seven innings and gave Cincinnati a chance, even if it ended in a no-decision in a 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Braves. He allowed two runs, six hits and one walk while striking out six, and he did it on 100 pitches in his 12th quality start of the year.
“Just put it all together -- it was one of the better days I’ve had," Abbott said. "I needed a good one.
I haven’t been able to put it together in August or September throughout my career. And that was really a focus, trying to go out with a bang and try to end it on a good note.”
For much of the afternoon, Abbott had the kind of command Cincinnati had been hoping to see again. He carried a shutout into the sixth before the Braves finally broke through on a pair of solo homers.
With two outs in the sixth and the Reds ahead 1-0, Matt Olson lifted Abbott’s 1-0 sweeper just beyond the reach of center fielder Dane Myers to tie the game. Cincinnati answered with a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh, but Abbott couldn’t protect it after Austin Riley opened the bottom half by driving an 0-1 fastball to center for another tying shot.
“I thought Abbott pitched his heart out. I thought he pitched great," Francona said.
The final line still left Abbott at 6-11 with a 4.61 ERA over 166 innings, just one-third of an inning short of matching his career high. But the bigger picture included a career-high 32 starts and no missed time because of injury, a significant point in a season that featured too much inconsistency after he posted a 2.87 ERA over 29 starts in 2025.
“I definitely could have been better," Abbott said, "I knew I didn’t throw the ball to the best of my ability. I had, in reality, three really bad games that kind of tanked everything else, but those are going to happen.
You just have to learn how to control them. I was able to limit damage in years past, but this year kind of got me.
It’s a big growing moment. It’s a big thing on how to rebound, how to respond.
"The biggest thing was staying healthy and making it through, and now we can focus on results."
Francona said there’s value in ending the year on that kind of note, especially with Cincinnati sitting at 73-85 and down to its final four games.
"Come Spring Training, I don’t think anybody will remember, but I’d much rather him end that way than getting hit around -- always," Francona said.
Abbott said the outing should carry into the offseason, especially after some late tinkering.
“It gives you a good feeling going in that you ended on a high note," Abbott said. "And it also kind of tells you what you were working on towards the end of the season, you continue to work on it in the offseason.
I made some mechanical [adjustments]. We slid over on the rubber, little things like that -- just playing around with old video and trying to figure things out and get it to where you at least feel comfortable, and then come back and hopefully it’s good.”
Cincinnati also got a boost from Brandon Williamson, who threw six scoreless innings in Tuesday’s win. The back-to-back quality starts give the Reds something to build on, and if they’re going to push for the postseason in 2027, they’ll need more of that kind of work from the group around Chase Burns, Abbott, Rhett Lowder, Williamson and Nick Lodolo.
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The numbers have placed De La Cruz near the top of the conversation in WAR and batting production, but Terry Francona has kept the focus on the broader picture rather than the milestone chase. For the Reds, that balance matters: De La Cruz is putting himself on the verge of special history, yet the emphasis inside the room remains on playing the game the right way and letting the rest sort itself out. [Read more 🡒]