Martinez went on to say the trade deadline was motivation for the 2025 Reds, who stood at 54-50 after Friday's victory and one game back of the San Diego Padres for the third National League Wild Card.

The Reds' hat was blue was a wishbone "C" larger than what they typically wear. The Rays had a black hat featuring a logo from their early history. There was some social media discussion across the MLB community about which hats "worked" and fit with the uniforms they accompanied.

There's belief around MLB that the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds should be among the teams looking to make major additions ahead of the upcoming trade deadline.

Trade Deadline winds are blowing stronger with moves starting to happen around Major League Baseball the past couple of days. For the Reds, the time is ripe for catching a breeze to both stay in the postseason hunt and position themselves for dealing before Thursday.

"One rival executive proclaimed the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants should be aggressive buyers," Rosenthal wrote, "saying it's 'open season' on the third NL wild card because of the San Diego Padres' uncertain hold on the position."

The Reds activated relief pitcher Scott Barlow from the paternity list on Saturday and sent rookie right-hander Luis Mey back down to Triple-A Louisville. Barlow, who went on the paternity list on Friday, missed just one game.

Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona has coaxed significantly better performance in his first year with every team he's managed.

Preview the July 26 matchup between the Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Rays with recent trends, how to watch, livestream info, and more.

Tyler Stephenson (8th home run) and TJ Friedl (10th) went deep in this game. Rays starting pitcher Zack Littell (8-8, 3.72 ERA) came into this game having allowed the most home runs in the major leagues and that continued.

Tyler Stephenson homered and drove in three runs and Nick Martinez struck out five in five innings as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-2.

The Cincinnati Reds were right to be concerned about Carson Spiers, who is likely heading for surgery and will miss the rest of this season, and more.