Reds Look to Play Spoiler as Blue Jays Chase Playoff Spot in Late September

Late September baseball hits different when one team is clinging to postseason dreams and the other is just trying to ruin somebody's day. The Blue Jays welcome Cincinnati to Rogers Centre with October implications hanging in the balance, and the Reds arrive as exactly the kind of pesky spoiler nobody wants to see this time of year.

Toronto's bats need to stay hot against a Reds pitching staff that's been leaky down the stretch. Cincinnati's rotation has struggled to keep runners off base in recent weeks, which should give the Jays' lineup plenty of opportunities to pad their run differential. The concern? The Reds have nothing to lose and everything to prove, making them dangerous in that reckless, carefree way that only eliminated teams can be.

The Blue Jays' playoff hopes likely hinge on taking care of business at home against inferior competition. That sounds simple enough, but we've all seen September collapses built on games exactly like this one. Toronto should have the pitching edge and the superior lineup top to bottom, but the Reds have been scrappy enough to keep things interesting.

DarkHorse hasn't dropped a pick on this one yet, so we're watching the market and waiting for the sharp money to show its hand. Check back for the official call.