Reds Surge With Fourth Straight Win, Terry Francona and Others React to Playoff Push

The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 on Saturday night. It was their third straight win in the series and fourth straight win overall.

The Mets lost to the Nationals in extra innings which moved the Reds just one game back of the third and final National League Wild Card spot.

Emilio Pagan saved his 29th game of the season and was fired up after the win.

"Sounds awesome," Pagan said. "That's why I signed here, to play in meaningful games this late in the season for a chance to get this franchise and this organization back where it belongs, playing meaningful playoff baseball with a chance to do something special. It was a lot of fun."

Tyler Stephenson hit a huge two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth that gave the Reds a three-run lead as opposed to just a one-run lead. He had high praise for his teammates and how close they are.

"The vibe and energy in there is great and it's going to continue that way," Stephenson said. "It's extra motivation. At the end of the day, try to win tomorrow, and try to win every game."

Reds manager Terry Francona had a lot of good things to about his squad on Saturday night.

"Did a lot of good things," Francona said. "Steve-o's home run to right to stretch it out was huge. We did a lot of good things. Elly making a game-saving play. There were a lot of good things happening today."

Francona pulled starting pitcher Zack Littell after he allowed just two runs through five innings. It showed how much this game mattered.

"There has to be some measure of urgency," Francona continued. "You're probably right in June, he would have gone back out there, but we are not in June."

You can listen to Francona, Stephenson, Pagan, and Tony Santillan's postgame comments below: