Thursday’s series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers played out as something of a microcosm of the Cincinnati Reds season as a whole.
The Dodgers raced out to an early, commanding lead on the backs of a trio of long home runs off Reds starter Hunter Greene. It was demoralizing, it rendered the game unwinnable, and it pretty well made you want to turn off the television despite having blocked off your afternoon purely for it. Once the interest had waned, and once the pitches over the plate became purely procedural, however, the Reds did just enough to pad the box score to remind you there are some professionals actually on the team, still.