Reds and Mets chasing final National League playoff spot on last day of regular season

MILWAUKEE (AP) — One playoff berth remains up for grabs heading into the final day of Major League Baseball’s regular season.

Cincinnati will earn the National League’s third and final wild card if the Reds beat the Milwaukee Brewers or the New York Mets lose at Miami on Sunday. A New York victory and Cincinnati loss would send the Mets to the playoffs instead.

The Reds and Mets have identical 83-78 records. Cincinnati owns the head-to-head tiebreaker because it won four of its six meetings with the Mets this season.

“If you could have promised us this in spring training, I think everybody would sign up for it every year,” Reds closer Emilio Pagán said Saturday night after his team's 7-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. “As cool as it is to clinch ahead of time and kind of know where you’re at, to have every single game be this meaningful is a gift. It doesn’t come around often. Hopefully we can make the most of it.”

Whichever team earns that last playoff berth heads to Los Angeles to begin an NL Wild Card Series against the defending World Series champion Dodgers on Tuesday.

The two teams fighting for the final spot offer a study in contrasts.

Cincinnati last reached the playoffs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The Reds last earned a playoff berth in a full season in 2013, and they haven't won a postseason series since 1995.

The Mets made it to the National League Championship Series last year and began this season with an MLB-high $322.6 million payroll.

Although the Mets owned MLB’s best record at 45-24 through June 12, they’ve gone just 38-54 since. That has enabled Cincinnati to move into playoff position despite going 16-18 over its last 34 games.

Cincinnati has heated up lately, winning eight of its last 10.

“We’ve felt we’ve been playing playoff baseball now for a while,” Pagán said. “Obviously we’ve needed some help across the league, and there’s no doubt we’ve gotten some. But right now we’re playing really good baseball. We’re excited to get to the field tomorrow.”

The Mets lost control of their postseason fate Friday when they fell 6-2 at Miami while the Reds won 3-1 at Milwaukee. New York bounced back Saturday afternoon by beating the Marlins 5-0, with Clay Holmes and three relievers combining on a one-hitter.

“It definitely felt good,” Holmes said. “It’s a game we had to win today. I just went out there and kind of gave it my all. I think once we finish the job here and get in the playoffs, it will be a little bit more satisfying.”

The Mets’ game ended before the Reds started playing Saturday night. Cincinnati then broke a scoreless tie with a six-run third inning and stayed ahead the rest of the way against the Brewers to move a step away from the playoffs.

“Obviously, we have a lot riding tomorrow and everyone’s going to be hyped up,” said Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott, the winning pitcher in Saturday’s game. “There will be a lot of pressure, a lot of excitement. But that’s good. Hopefully we feed off it and come ready to play.”

Cincinnati’s Brady Singer (14-11, 3.95 ERA) will start Sunday, while the Reds’ lineup will face All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta (17-6. 2.68). Sean Manaea (2-4, 5.80) will start for the Mets against Miami’s Edward Cabrera (7-7, 3.66).

A postseason run would represent the latest chapter in the illustrious managerial career for Terry Francona, who led the Boston Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007 and guided Cleveland to Game 7 of the 2016 Fall Classic.

Francona took a year off from managing for health reasons before the Reds hired him. Now he’s on the verge of getting back to the playoffs during his first season in Cincinnati.

“It’s exciting,” Francona said. “Don’t run from it. I know sleep this time of year is not great anyway. We’ll be ready to go.”

Pagán exemplifies the Reds’ sense of urgency as they chase this playoff berth. He pitched for the fourth straight day Saturday and retired the side in order in the ninth to earn his 32nd save.

The only other player to pitch four straight days this season was the Athletics’ Tyler Ferguson, who did it from May 3-6.

After Saturday’s game, Pagán was asked how his arm feels.

“Right now it feels great,” he said. “Adrenaline is through the roof. I’m probably not going to fall asleep for a few hours. I’m sure whenever the season does end — hopefully a month and a half from now — it’s not going to feel great for a couple of days, but that’s OK. This is what you sign up for, for these opportunities and moments like this. If I can throw it over the plate tomorrow, then I’m going to try my hardest to get in there.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

New York Mets' Tyrone Taylor (15) is congratulated after scoring on a walk by Juan Soto during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

New York Mets' Francisco Alvarez (4) is congratulated in the dugout after scoring on a RBI single hit by Francisco Lindor during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Cincinnati Reds' TJ Friedl hits a two-run RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz and Will Benson celebrate after a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz and Noelvi Marte celebrate after a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The United States is offering Ukraine security guarantees for a period of 15 years as part of a proposed peace plan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, though he said he would prefer an American commitment of up to 50 years to deter Russia from further attempts to seize its neighbor’s land by force.

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Zelenskyy at his Florida resort on Sunday and insisted that Ukraine and Russia are “closer than ever before” to a peace settlement.

Negotiators are still searching for a breakthrough on key issues, however, including whose forces withdraw from where and the fate of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one of the 10 biggest in the world. Trump noted that the monthslong U.S.-led negotiations could still collapse.

“Without security guarantees, realistically, this war will not end,” Zelenskyy told reporters in voice messages responding to questions sent via a Whatsapp chat.

Ukraine has been fighting Russia since 2014, when it illegally annexed Crimea and Moscow-backed separatists took up arms in the Donbas, a vital industrial region in eastern Ukraine.

Details of the security guarantees have not become public but Zelenskyy said Monday that they include how a peace deal would be monitored as well as the “presence” of partners. He didn’t elaborate, but Russia has said it won’t accept the deployment in Ukraine of troops from NATO countries.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump were expected to speak in the near future but there was no indication the Russian leader would speak to Zelenskyy.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Kyiv’s allies will meet in Paris in early January to “finalize each country’s concrete contributions” to the security guarantees.

Trump said he would consider extending U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine beyond 15 years, according to Zelenskyy. The guarantees would be approved by the U.S. Congress as well as by parliaments in other countries involved in overseeing any settlement, he said.

Zelenskyy said he wants the 20-point peace plan under discussion to be approved by Ukrainians in a national referendum.

However, holding a ballot requires a ceasefire of at least 60 days, and Moscow has shown no willingness for a truce without a full settlement.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands at the start of a joint news conference following a meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands at the start of a joint news conference following a meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint news conference with President Donald Trump following a meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)