Reds drop final out, lose to Cardinals in MLB’s wildest 9th inning of the season

The Cincinnati Reds are likely to miss the MLB Playoffs for the fifth time in the last six seasons. The St. Louis Cardinals are trying to make a late push to earn the final wild card spot in the National League after missing the playoffs the last three years. The two teams played a rare five-game series this week with tons of drama. On Monday, Red outfielder Dane Myers hit the game-tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give the Reds an improbable win. On Thursday, his crucial error allowed the Cardinals to steal a victory they had no business getting. The Cardinals trailed the Reds 5-3 going into the ninth inning on Thursday. St. Louis promptly exploded for six runs in the top of the ninth to take the lead, but game should have ended before they ever had a chance to do that. Myers had the final out of the game in his glove, but a sunny day and some confusion in the outfield produced a wild error that allowed St. Louis to take the lead. Watch the play here: In Play: Run(s) 🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/5kJrYJUjRI — St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 20, 2026 Calling off your teammate only to drop the ball … yikes. Myers simply has to make that play. Baseball is the cruelest sport. You’re the hero one day, and the goat the next. Myers learned this lesson the hard way. The Reds came back and scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn’t enough. The Cardinals won, 10-9, to win their fifth straight series. The bats came alive for St. Louis late, and it sure helps when the opposite gives you another out. 6 RUNS IN THE 9TH 🤯 pic.twitter.com/cG8dhydwBc — St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 20, 2026 The Cards are 2.5 games behind the Padres for the third and final wild card spot. San Diego won a thriller against the New York Mets earlier this week behind some heroics from Fernando Tatis Jr., but the Cards aren’t giving up. St. Louis still has to run down the Arizona Diamondbacks before it can pass San Diego, but the way this team is playing lately, anything is possible. The Reds wasted a grand slam from Matt McLain in the loss. There’s a lot of painful things that can happen on a baseball field. Dropping the final out and then losing the game because of it might be as bad as it gets. This feels like the sort of thing that should only happen to the Mets, but there are plenty of other bad baseball teams out there. The Reds are one of them.

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