Bronx cheers: Cincinnati Reds sweep New York Yankees for first time since 1976 World Series

NEW YORK – If you think the Cincinnati Reds have been beat up and beat down much of the season, you should have seen the other guys this week in New York.

Not to mention the back pages of the New York tabloids, which spent barrels of ink and creative juices griping about how bad the locals looked during the Reds’ three-game express through the Bronx.

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The Reds finished off their most impressive road trip of the season with an 8-4 victory at Yankee Stadium Thursday that gave them their first sweep of the Yankees in any series in any month of the year since the 1976 World Series.

“I think this is the series that is taking us where we need to be and putting us in a position to be in a pennant race realistically,” Reds reliever Fernando Cruz said after Wednesday night’s dramatic one-run win.

With the July 30 trade deadline in sight and the Reds front office on record that decision time for buyer-seller direction comes at the All-Star break, their 5-2 road trip through St. Louis and the Bronx might have come just in the nick of time.

In the process of sweeping the Yankees by somehow out-homering them 7-3 in the series, the Reds also improved to 12-10 against the five teams with the best records in the majors.

The next big order of business: Taking care of business against some of the worst teams in the league over the next 10 days during an all-loser homestand against the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies and Miami Marlins.

A 7-3 sprint to the break would put them over .500 for the first time since May 2 and likely among the frontrunners in the wild-card picture with 105 games left in the season, and 10 games left before the deadline.

“I understand the trade deadline, and I understand that it’s looming in less than a month,” manager David Bell said. “But I don’t choose to think about that. My focus is on our players and our team.

“It’s more about just playing well for all the reasons that matter to us.”

The Yankees series might have mattered as much to the Reds this season as any they’ve played — at least as much as the season series they won against the NL pace-setting Philadelphia Phillies and the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

It showed off part of the blueprint the Reds drew up for winning when the season started — and some stuff that wasn’t necessarily part of the plan.

Good pitching throughout the series was in the plans, allowing the Reds to take the first lead in each game and play with the lead throughout. They never trailed in the series.

But all those home runs? Not necessarily.

Seven different Reds hit one: Will Benson, Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte, Stuart Fairchid, Nick Martini, Jonathan India and Spencer Steer.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds sweep Yankees in New York