The Reds Scored Seven in the Ninth Because Baseball Is Stupid and Beautiful
Down 9-3 with three outs left, Cincinnati produced the comeback of the season — against odds their own history books say were roughly 3-in-1,920.
August 27, 2026 at 6:20 AM EDT
1 min read
Entering the ninth inning Wednesday, the Reds trailed the Giants 9-3. Entering the ninth inning, historically, the Reds were 3-1,917 all-time when down six or more that late. You know where this is going, because baseball is stupid and beautiful.
The inning, in order
Rookie Héctor Rodríguez led off with his second homer of the game. A few batters later, Eugenio Suárez — hours before the Reds put him on waivers, because this franchise contains multitudes — unloaded a grand slam, his 19th homer, to make it 9-8. Then the truly unhinged part: back-to-back bunt singles from Dane Myers and Matt McLain, a José Trevino sacrifice fly to tie it, and pinch-hitter Tyler Stephenson's single to win it, 10-9.
A six-run ninth-inning lead had not been blown by the Giants since at least 1901. The Reds needed a homer, a slam, two bunts, a sac fly and a pinch hitter to do it. Baseball.
Why we love this sport
No clock, no kneel-down, no victory formation — baseball is the only major sport where the losing team has to get the last out on purpose, and once in roughly 640 tries, they can't. The win probability chart from this game belongs in a museum.