 CINCINNATI AP - The grounds crew that had been banging drums and raising a din in the stands all game long lined up and exchanged high-fives with exuberant Reds players. Felt like old times at Great American Ball Park - 2013, to be exact, the last time Cincinnati made the playoffs. Now, the Reds are on the verge of going back. Joey Votto homered for his first hit all season against Milwaukee, Trevor Bauer dominated on short rest and the Reds won a pivotal series for playoff contention, beating the Brewers 6-1 on Wednesday night. A team were neck-and-neck with in the division, in the wild-card hunt - today was an important game, and we came through for sure, Votto said. The Reds are in position for a wild-card playoff berth after taking two of three from their NL Central rival. Cincinnati has won nine of 11, its best streak of the season, to get a shot at its first playoff appearance since a wild-card berth in 2013 under manager Dusty Baker. After a day off Thursday, Cincinnati finishes with three games in Minnesota and a chance to clinch a spot. I dont want to get too far ahead of myself because Ive seen it too many times where teams get their hearts broken, said Votto, who was on the last playoff team. Im of course enjoying playing winning baseball, but weve got three more to go. Reflecting the urgency of winning the final game of the series, Cincinnati had Bauer 5-4 pitch on three days rest. He allowed four hits and struck out 12 in eight innings, throwing 104 pitches. Just a big game, manager David Bell said. I think it was even more meaningful that it was on short rest. He knew how big of a game this was and he wanted to be out there. Bauer exited with an NL-best 1.73 ERA. Clevelands Shane Bieber tops the majors at... 