MILWAUKEE (Interstat) — Sal Stewart homered and hit an RBI single, Miguel Andujar went 3 for 5 and the Cincinnati Reds moved a step closer to their first postseason berth since 2020 by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 7-4 on Saturday night at American Family Field.

A crowd of 40,801 watched as the Reds exploded for six runs in the third inning and then held off the NL Central champion Brewers to set up a winner-take-all scenario for the National League’s final wild-card spot.

Cincinnati will earn the postseason bid with a victory in Sunday’s regular-season finale or a New York Mets loss to the Miami Marlins. A Reds loss coupled with a Mets win would send New York to the playoffs instead. The winner of that third wild-card spot will head to Los Angeles to begin a best-of-three series with the Dodgers on Tuesday.

The Reds improved to 83-79, while the Brewers, who have already clinched the division, fell to 98-65.

The game turned decisively in a chaotic top of the third inning. With the game scoreless, Noelvi Marte reached on a throwing error by Brewers starter Robert Gasser. Miguel Andujar followed with a double, and one out later, Stewart lined a single to center to score Marte.

After another out, the floodgates opened against reliever Jacob Misiorowski. Walks to Tyler Stephenson and Matt McLain forced in two more runs. The inning’s biggest blow came from TJ Friedl, who hit a ground ball single to left field that scored three runs after a throwing error by left fielder Isaac Collins.

Milwaukee responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame off Reds starter Andrew Abbott. Danny Jansen scored on a Christian Yelich groundout, and Brice Turang doubled home Joey Ortiz to cut the deficit to 6-2.

Stewart provided a critical insurance run in the sixth inning, launching a solo home run to right-center field, his fifth of the season, to extend the lead to 7-2.

The Brewers again answered in their half of the sixth. Jackson Chourio led off with his 21st home of the year. Later in the inning, with two on and two out, Jake Bauers delivered a pinch-hit single to score another run, pulling Milwaukee within three at 7-4. Abbott was chased after 5 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out four.

The Reds’ bullpen took over from there. Nick Martinez worked two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. Closer Emilio Pagán then entered in the ninth and retired the side in order, striking out one, to secure his 32nd save of the season.

Abbott earned the win to improve to 10-7. Gasser, who was pulled after 2 2/3 innings despite not allowing an earned run, took the loss, falling to 0-2.

Cincinnati’s offense tallied 10 hits, while Milwaukee managed seven. The game time was 3 hours, 8 minutes.

The victory continued a strong late-season push for the Reds, who have now won three of their last four games. The Brewers, having already secured their playoff positioning, have dropped two straight.

The teams conclude the regular season and settle the wild-card race on Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee.