Reds manager Dusty Baker turned philosopher for a few minutes Monday. He tried to explain how special it would be to see his team advance in the playoffs just weeks after an irregular heartbeat landed him in a Chicago hospital, where he suffered a mini-stroke.

The episode renewed Baker’s appreciation for everything going on in his life, and baseball is just one part. Lately, he has even been marveling at the geese he sees flying over Great American Ball Park, though he might have more on his mind tonight during Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Giants.

“I see the geese every time they come off the river,” Baker said. “That kind of stuff. Or the half moon the other night. A lot of times you just take it for granted. It’s a full moon or a half moon. All of a sudden you start seeing the moon. I also think about my father a lot. He would have been out in San Francisco at every game. These are things I think about.”

Cueto update: The status of Reds ace Johnny Cueto, who left Game 1 because of back spasms after pitching to one batter, is still up in the air.

If the Reds sweep with a victory tonight, that would give them more time to make a decision about Cueto because they wouldn’t play again until Sunday against the Nationals or Cardinals in the National League Championship Series.

“We’re going to do what’s best for him,” Baker said. “I just hope that’s best for us, too.”

Arroyo’s gem: One day after perhaps the greatest performance of Bronson Arroyo’s career (he allowed no runs and one hit in seven innings as the Reds won Game 2 9-0), he explained how he did it.

“I had command, and I had good movement on the sinker,” Arroyo said. “The breaking ball wasn’t exceptional, but I wasn’t going to use it as much as I normally do anyway. The air was really light out there. It was breezy behind my back. There wasn’t a lot of substance in the air. The ball didn’t want to move a lot, but I threw enough of them to keep them off balance.”

Pressure on Giants: The Giants haven’t been swept in a postseason series since 1997, and they won the World Series two years ago. It’s not a team that will go quietly tonight, though no National League team has come back from a 2-0 deficit in the Division Series.

“I think you have to remind them it’s the best of five,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “You may be going against the odds. You understand that. But it’s happened before in baseball. There have been a lot of different teams that have mounted pretty good comebacks.”

Game 4 starter: If there is a Game 4 on Wednesday in Cincinnati, it would start at 4:07 p.m. Bochy said Barry Zito would start for the Giants. The Reds have not named a starter.