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.”
