Major League Baseball

Reds down to their final shot

Published Oct. 10, 2010 10:11 p.m. ET

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Dateline: CINCINNATI

The Reds arrived for their workout in Great American Ball Park yesterday afternoon in the most human of conditions.

Simply stated, the team joined the rest of the day-to-day world after losing the first two games of their best-of-five National League divisional series to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Cincinnati must win Game 3 tonight or see its first trip to the playoffs since 1995 disappear faster than a quarter in a street magician's hand.

"Everybody knows that if you lose, you go home," second baseman Brandon Phillips said. "Nobody wants to go home now. We're going to win. We're going to keep it going and have a good time doing it.

"We can't really care about the first two games. All we can do is worry about the future. You can't get stuck in the past, or you can't have success in the future."

The latter thought echoed throughout the clubhouse and likely first flowed from the pulpit of Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker. He has been in this position before.

"It is a tough spot, but it's not impossible," Baker said. "All things are possible through faith and perseverance. The hardest thing is to win one. You win one, and you've got yourself some action."

Getting there won't be easy. The Phillies are starting Cole Hamels, and the left-hander has a 6-0 record with a 1.07 ERA in seven career starts against the Reds.

Baker is countering with Johnny Cueto, who allowed two earned runs in two starts against the Phillies this season. The Reds won only one of those games.

"This club performs well with our backs up against the wall," Baker said. "I wish we always didn't have our backs up against the wall ... but we're just trying to get one (win)."

Moving from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia to Great American can't hurt. The atmosphere in Philly had a jackhammer effect, especially in Game 2. The Reds led 4-0 through five innings but committed four errors, ultimately losing 7-4.

"It was as loud of a baseball game as I've ever been part of," center fielder Drew Stubbs said. "I'm not going to say that caused us to lose, because it didn't. But the home team can definitely get some momentum with that atmosphere.

"Once they started getting some momentum, we made a couple of mistakes and then they got ahead of us. Once that's the case, it's tough to overcome."

The Reds are hoping that their fans can create the same kind of atmosphere. Yet there is no way to know, with 15 years separating playoff games.

"The closest we've seen to that this year was when we had the game against Houston to clinch (the Central Division)," Stubbs said. "We had a packed house, and the crowd was loud and into the game. It was just as supportive a crowd as Philadelphia had at their place."

Phillips shook his head when asked what he expected from the fans.

"To tell you the truth, I have no idea how the city is going to be," he said. "Hopefully, it's going to be something beautiful. ... There better be something because we're going to need it."

The players want to remain day-to-day for as long as they can.

"I'm just having a blast being here," Phillips said. "All we've got to do is go out there and win. If we win, then they're going to be thinking about us winning the next game and sweeping them. That's how I'm looking at it. That's all we have to do is win (one), and the pressure is on them."

Cabrera still hurting

Reds shortstop Orlando Cabrera probably will miss Game 3 because of pulled muscles in his left side. He missed 27 games in August and September and aggravated the injury Friday.

jmassie@dispatch.com

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