Cincinnati Reds win 5th straight, embrace showdown with World Series-champion Astros

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Anyone struggling to find the words to describe what we’re seeing from a Cincinnati Reds team that has defied expectations, odds and even baseball logic for the last two months should probably talk to Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott.

“I know the slogan these days is ‘America’s Team,’ “ the rookie left-hander said. “It’s what everybody’s saying.”

Wait, everybody where?

In the clubhouse?

“Yeah, that’s what we’re saying,” Abbott said. “ ‘America’s Team.’ “

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It’s as good a label as any for a team getting increasing national attention with its two-month rise from 7-15 oblivion and most recently the celebrated debut of touted prospect Elly De La Cruz.

“There’s a whole lot of chatter,” Abbott said, “but for good reason.”

The label might even stick if they keep up this improbable run that continued with a 7-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium — the Reds’ fifth consecutive win, tying their season high, and eighth win in their last 10 overall.

The team that has hit fewer home runs than all but two other teams in the majors hit four on this night, including three in a five-run fifth inning — including Matt McLain and Jonathan India going back-to-back.

The team with the worst starting rotation ERA in the National League (5.93 entering play Wednesday) failed to get a quality start for the ninth consecutive game — and won for the seventh time in that stretch.

They won for the 13th time in 19 games despite committing four errors Wednesday.

Did somebody say something about defying logic?

“We’ve known what we’ve had all year, dating back to spring training,” said leadoff man TJ Friedl, who got a scheduled day off Wednesday a few days after returning from a hamstring injury. “We knew the potential we had in this clubhouse.”

And now that the national baseball scene has finally begun to take notice of the rising Reds, they get their chance to prove it.

The Reds open a three-game series in Houston Friday against the reigning World Series-champion Astros, with Abbott making his third career start in the series opener.

“It’s definitely exciting,” he said. “Everybody’s good in this league, so it’s just another game, really. And I’m good enough to go against them.”

That might as well be the other slogan in a clubhouse — a clubhouse that might actually start earning some of that America’s Team love from outside the room if it comes out of Houston with a sixth series win in the last seven.

“I think it’d be kind of a statement,” Friedl said. “A state like, ‘Hey, we’re here and we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing, playing ball like we’re playing.’ “

If anything, they’re playing like they’re about to catch the Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers at the top of the division — now just 1 1/2 games out of first place and a half-game out of second.

“It’s hard not to look at the standings because it’s right in front of you,” Friedl said. “But it’s also so early that you don’t want to get caught up in it.

“We keep playing our game, and we’ll look up at the end of the year and be happy with where we’re at.”

This week’s sweep of the Royals was the Reds’ third of the season, including one on the road in Chicago against the Cubs and one against the Texas Rangers, who currently lead the Astros in the American League West.

“We’ve had quite a few series against really good teams,” manager David Bell said, talking about this weekend’s series. “We definitely welcome those opportunities to see where we stand. Our team hasn’t backed down. And that’s taking nothing away from those teams; we know how good they are. 

“But I like our team’s approach and how we’ve played in those series against the best teams in baseball.”