For two nights, a trait of the Cincinnati Reds offense was on display. Patience is their practice. Just one major-league team is swinging at a lower percentage of pitches faced this season, per Baseball Savant.

The numbers do not lie: they are now, once again, a sub-.500 baseball team. And the next club on the docket is the Houston Astros, a club on the tail end of a generational dynasty that has twice won World Series titles since 2017 (and appeared in another pair of World Series, too).