Francona, Reds resolve to halt tough stretch

This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SAN DIEGO -- Reds manager Terry Francona doesn't like dwelling very long on games once they're completed. So much so that Francona has a postgame ritual for his laptop that reflects that vibe.

"I know the first thing I do after a game or when we get on a plane is I erase the lineup and I do the next day’s," Francona said on Monday. "That's probably my way -- whether we’ve won or lost -- of moving on."

There obviously hasn't been much to like lately about Cincinnati's results. After Monday's 6-2 loss to the Padres, they have dropped five in a row and nine of their last 11 to drop their overall record to 31-34. The Reds are 10 1/2 games behind the first-place Brewers in the National League Central standings while bunched with several clubs in a cluttered NL Wild Card picture still way too early to decipher.

The bullpen has struggled mightily, and injuries to key players have compounded the club's inability to get hot again after it ended April with a 20-11 record atop the Central.

"It feels tough right now," rookie first baseman Sal Stewart said. "It feels like we’re treading in quicksand a little bit. I feel like we’re right there in games, but they’re not going our way. I feel like we just have to stay the course.”

After the Reds were swept at St. Louis during their previous three-game series, Francona held a team meeting and implored the players to keep believing in themselves and to pick each other up.

“We have a good group, and I know that," Francona said. "Do I wish we’d win some more games? Yeah, but that’s not an indictment on them. And I include myself in all of that. When I say we need to be better, I’m not pointing at them. I’m pointing at us.”

A similar meeting was held last September after the club was swept by the A's in West Sacramento to fall to 74-75. The Reds won nine of their last 13 games after that to claim the final National League Wild Card berth on the final day of the 2025 season.

“We’re not panicking," starting pitcher Andrew Abbott said. "We’re not trying to make a bigger deal than it is. Maybe we’re not playing our best baseball right now. We know that it’s a long season. We were in the same spot or worse or maybe a little bit better last year. Then we turned it on. So it’s not unfamiliar territory."

Not looking back -- nor looking too far ahead -- served Francona and the Reds well last season. By going micro instead of macro, the club can attempt to chip away at their deficits on the field and in the standings.

“I think you’ve just got to keep pushing," outfielder JJ Bleday said. "It’s not going to be easy, never is. It’s hard to get wins in the big leagues. But if we have that expectation, that mentality of, ‘Hey, it’s going to be hard, but if you can embrace it, bust your butt and do the best you can on that given day, you’ve got a good chance at getting a win.’

"It doesn’t mean you’ll win six in a row or anything like that. If we can narrow our focus and try to win each pitch and not leave anything out on the field, that’s really all we can control to try and get a result.”

He may move on from an individual game quickly, but it doesn't mean Francona isn't frustrated or not searching for better results. On Monday, ahead of the Reds' 6:40 p.m. PT game, Francona said he arrived at Petco Park at 10:30 a.m. -- way earlier than usual.

"Why am I here at 10:30? I can’t do anything. But I was miserable sitting in my room. And Brad [Meador, the Reds' general manager,] came over a little while later, and you talk about stuff.

"I love our coaching staff. They give a [damn]. They give a [damn] the right way, and I love that about them. I think when you’re in times like this -- and probably fans don’t want to hear this -- but it’s not that you don’t set expectations. But this is us. It’s not just us when we win. It’s us when we’re not winning.”