The Cincinnati Reds were one out away from a series-salvaging win Thursday afternoon at Great American Ball Park. Up 5-4 with two outs in the top of the ninth, all they needed was one more routine fly ball. Instead, center fielder Dane Myers watched a catchable ball carom off his glove, the tying and go-ahead runs scored, and the inning spiraled into a six-run disaster that turned a sure victory into a 10-9 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. It was the kind of collapse that defines a season — and for the Reds, this one has been full of them.
The Play That Changed Everything
With two outs and the Reds nursing a 5-4 lead, the Cardinals put a ball in the air that should have ended the game. Myers, normally one of the surest gloves in the Cincinnati outfield, drifted under it and dropped it — the ball caromed off his glove as the tying and go-ahead runs crossed the plate. The inning didn't stop there. Reliever Brock Burke, suddenly pitching with the game flipped, couldn't find the zone or the outs, and by the time the Cardinals finished the inning they had scored six runs with two outs. What was a one-run lead became a 10-5 deficit in the span of a few agonizing minutes.
From Hero to Goat in Four Days
The cruelest part of the sequence is that Myers has been Cincinnati's most improbable hero all week. On Monday, in the first game of a doubleheader against these same Cardinals, he homered; in the nightcap, he delivered a two-out, pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning to force extra innings, part of a 3-for-5 day that included two solo shots. It was his best offensive day of the season, and it pushed him into a tie with the Chicago Cubs' Michael Conforto for the most pinch hits in the majors. He entered Thursday having hit in six straight games. Then, four days after being the reason the Reds won, he was the reason they lost — a brutal swing of fortune that baseball hands out without mercy.
The Bullpen Problem That Won't Go Away
Myers' drop was the spark, but the six-run inning was the fire, and it was fueled by a bullpen that has been Cincinnati's fatal flaw all season. The Reds have one of the most dangerous lineups in the National League, but their relief corps has routinely turned winnable games into losses. Burke's unraveling after the drop was the latest chapter in a season-long theme: there simply aren't enough reliable arms in the Cincinnati bullpen for big moments. Manager Terry Francona has preached patience with his young club all year, and he has been rewarded with a lineup that can score in bunches — but no amount of offense can overcome a relief corps that keeps handing leads back.
A Rally That Fell One Swing Short
To their credit, the Reds refused to go quietly. Down 10-5 entering the bottom of the ninth, Cincinnati stormed back with four runs, loading the bases with two outs and bringing the winning run to second base. But Matt McLain's fly ball to end it settled into a glove, and the comeback died one swing short of the unlikeliest of wins. The sequence was a microcosm of the Reds' season: all the fight in the world, but just not enough to close the deal.
Wild-Card Implications
The loss carries real stakes beyond the box score. The Cardinals, who have quietly hung around the National League picture all summer, pulled to 2.5 games back of the final NL Wild Card spot with the win. For St. Louis, Thursday's gift could be the moment they point to in October — the kind of break that a fringe contender needs to sneak into the dance. The Reds, meanwhile, fell seven games back, and the math is starting to look impossible. Cincinnati made the playoffs in 2025, but 2026 has been a different story: the club dropped three of five in this series, finished its homestand 3-5, and lost its third series in its last four. For a team with this much offensive firepower, the margin between contender and also-ran has come down to pitching — and the ninth inning Thursday was the evidence.
What the Market Saw
For bettors, the game was a reminder that close lines can produce chaotic results. St. Louis closed as a slim favorite around -107 to -115, with Cincinnati at plus money — about as near a coin flip as a baseball game gets. The final score made that line look almost quaint. The total, though, was a different story: a day game in August at one of the most hitter-friendly parks in baseball, with two offenses that can erupt at any moment, produced 19 runs and a one-run finish. The Reds covered the spread of chaos, but not the one that mattered.
The Takeaway
Baseball is a game of inches, and Thursday at Great American Ball Park, the inches went against the Reds in the cruelest way possible. One dropped fly ball turned a win into a loss, a four-game slide into something worse, and a feel-good week for Dane Myers into a headline he'd rather forget. The Cardinals will take the gift and keep pushing toward October. The Reds will head to Phoenix wondering what might have been — and whether the ninth inning Thursday was the moment their season officially slipped away.
Grant McAllister
Grant McAllister brings a seasoned eye to sports coverage, blending market context, team trends, and matchup details into clear analysis for everyday readers.