All things considered, Terry Francona probably couldn't have asked for a better start to his team's key nine-game road trip.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/reds as Cincinnati Reds Starting Pitcher Quietly Emerging as One of Baseball's Best Pitchers. Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Andrew Abbott is coming off one of the most impressive weeks of his young career.

Elly De La Cruz and the Cinicinnati Reds are in Los Angeles tonight to face off with the Angels in game one of a three games series.

The the left-hander is pondering his next move suggests the doctor offered multiple go-forward scenarios and that the soreness may not be normal. Reds manager Terry Francona said the team will "support what he does.

The Reds did just that Monday night, beating the Los Angeles Angels 4-1 to get back to six games over .500 at 66-60. With the New York Mets idle on Monday, the Reds moved to within one game out of the third NL Wild Card spot.

Cincinnati opened the series up with a 4-1 victory over Los Angeles and that snapped the Angels’ three-game home winning streak. The Reds have won back-to-back games and have improved to 6-3 over the previous nine games.

Christian Yelich had two homers among his four hits and drove in five runs as the Milwaukee Brewers overcame a seven-run deficit to beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-8 for their club record-tying 13th straight victory.

The bullpen desperately needed some rest and Singer, Phillips, Mey, and Barlow helped them get an extra day's rest while also still securing a win. The Reds improved to 66-60 on the season and now sit just one game back of the New York Mets for the third and final National League Wild Card spot.

Eight divisions with four teams each, which is a huge shift from today's six divisions with five teams. The American League gets condensed (confined to the heavily populated East Coast out to the Great Lakes region), while the National League stretches out for far more square mileage.

There were a couple of innings where Victor Mederos was visibly frustrated when he walked off the mound on Monday night. Even when he worked his way out of jams, the Angels starter felt like he could’ve executed better.