Reds - playoffs or no ?

[*ochocincos*]

After the sweep, Reds now just 1 game under .500 and 4.5 games out of the last WC spot.

The first 2 WCs are likely out of the Reds' reach, as that's 8.5 games behind ARZ and SD.
So the question is...can Reds gain 5 games in the standings with 41 games left?
It's difficult to do, and they don't have a super easy SoS, but it's possible.

At this point, Reds have been under .500 for 60+ games straight now, so I'm not expecting them to make the playoffs.
We've seen quite a few times this season where they got hot and people thought they were turning the corner, only for them to s**t the bed after and fall multiple games under .500 after.

Reds have two series against the AL in a row (Royals, Blue Jays), then they get the Pirates and the lowly A's.
If they can get through that stretch and end up just a couple games out of the WC, they may have a shot.
However, last year showed me they weren't quite there yet from a consistency standpoint and they don't seem to be again this year, so I'm skeptical.