Forget September. For the Cincinnati Reds, August is already turning into the month that can make or break whatever’s left of this season.
The schedule everyone circled when MLB unveiled the 2026 slate was the one waiting in September: six games with the Milwaukee Brewers, seven with the Los Angeles Dodgers, then matchups with the Padres, Cubs and Braves. That gauntlet still sits there. But the Reds have learned the hard way that the road to it isn’t exactly smooth either.
Cincinnati rolled out of the All-Star Break with a 13-6 run and looked like a club clawing its way back into the conversation. Then came two losses to the Nationals, and with them a drop back into last place in the NL Central entering Sunday, Aug. 9.
The Nationals were supposed to be one of the softer spots on the calendar. They aren’t.
Washington had spent much of 2026 hanging around the National League wild card race, and even after fading recently, the Nats handled Cincinnati in the first two games of the series. That put them back ahead of the Reds entering play Aug.
And Washington isn’t the only team on this stretch with something to play for.
Next up for Cincinnati is the Chicago White Sox from Aug. 11-13, a club with a record just above .500 and the lead in the American League Central. After that, the Reds host the Miami Marlins from Aug.
14-16. Miami entered play Aug. 9 at 59-59 and sitting 3.5 games out of the third National League wild card spot.
Then comes an even bigger test: five games against the St. Louis Cardinals from Aug.
17-20. That series was originally supposed to be four games, but an Aug. 17 split doubleheader was added after the Reds and Cardinals were rained out at Great American Ball Park on May 24.
Manager Terry Francona is already thinking ahead to that doubleheader, and that means getting Chase Petty ready to possibly help cover innings. Petty was optioned to Triple-A Louisville on Aug. 8 after losing some of the length he had when he moved into a bullpen role.
Francona said Petty will try to get back to 50 pitches in a game against Triple-A Louisville after Brandon Williamson starts Tuesday, Aug. 11.
"We're not trying to confuse him," Francona said. "We've got that doubleheader coming up, and there's no days off so we've got to cover that the best way we can. We hate to have him not be a possibility because we didn't" stretch his arm out."
The Reds still have more work ahead after that. They go on the road for series against the Arizona Diamondbacks from Aug. 21-23 in Phoenix and the Chicago Cubs from Aug. 28-30 at Wrigley Field, both of whom were in current NL wild card position entering play Aug. 9.
In between, Cincinnati hosts the San Francisco Giants from Aug. 24-26, and while the Giants have slipped late in the season, the Reds can’t count on any easy outs. They also swept the Athletics earlier this month, a reminder that this team can still put together a strong series when things click.
The month ends with Game 1 of a three-game set against the Padres, who entered play Aug. 9 just one game behind Philadelphia for the third wild card spot.
The Reds may have been bracing for September all along, but August is the stretch that’s asking questions right now.
In Other News...
Reds Prospects Are Running Out Of Time To Stay In The Plan
The Reds farm system still has name recognition, but a few of the organizations once-promising prospects are starting to press against the clock. Cam Collier, Leo Balcazar, Jay Allen II, Zach Maxwell and Austin Hendrick all remain part of the conversation in Cincinnati, yet each is carrying different versions of the same problem: the production has not matched the pedigree, and the minor league calendar keeps moving.
That matters now because the Reds have roster choices coming, from Rule 5 Draft protection to 40-man decisions, and those calls tend to expose where a club really stands on a player. For a group that was supposed to keep climbing together, the next stretch feels less like a runway and more like an audition, with little margin left for another lost season or another step backward. [Read more 🡒]
Sal Stewart Has Reds Fans Watching A Rookie Race Get Personal
With about a month left in the season, Sal Stewart has turned the National League rookie race into one of those late-summer scoreboard watches Reds fans know well. The Cincinnati infielder is tied with St. Louis Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt for the top spot in the rookie rankings, and Stewart has given himself a strong case by leading in several key offensive categories, including RBIs, home runs and extra-base hits.
Wetherholt, though, has answered with the kind of all-around profile that can sway voters once September arrives, thanks to his defense and a higher WAR. So the contest is shaping up as a true photo finish, with every big night carrying extra weight and the final verdict likely coming down to how each player finishes over the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]
Elly De La Cruz Trade Interest Put Reds Fans On Edge
The Reds stayed active at the 2026 trade deadline, moving Nataniel Lowe to the Cleveland Guardians for a young pitcher and sending Caleb Ferguson to the St. Louis Cardinals for international bonus pool money. Around those deals, there was plenty of chatter about Cincinnatis broader direction, especially with Elly De La Cruz still the kind of player other clubs keep circling whenever the market opens up.
Boston was one of the teams linked to De La Cruz, which was enough to put Reds fans on edge for a few hours. In the end, though, Cincinnati held onto its shortstop, keeping the focus on what it has in front of it rather than what it might have given up, while the clubs recent buzz also included Dane Myers winning MLB Play of the Week and Eugenio Suarez reaching his 205th career home run as a Red. [Read more 🡒]