Reds slide down the rankings after a dismal road trip against the Pirates

Pitching has also been good for the team, even with ace Hunter Greene having been sidelined since spring training after undergoing surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow.

Chase Burns has stepped up tremendously, leading the team in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. But even he was not enough to keep the Pirates from completing the sweep on Sunday.

They were outscored 27-8 over the weekend, and that has bumped them down a few spots in Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller's latest power rankings from No 5 to No. 9.

"The Reds made dubious history in Saturday's 17-7 loss to Pittsburgh, walking seven consecutive batters during that pitching nightmare. They came back the next day and held the Pirates to just one run, yet still lost in shutout fashion. Throw in that 13-2 home loss to the Colorado Rockies and it wasn't exactly a banner week for what had been our highest ranked NL Central team last Monday."

Now it doesn't get any easier in Cincinnati's next series. They face off against their division rivals, the Chicago Cubs, in a four-game series that will likely truly test how good the Reds really are.

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