The Los Angeles Dodgers wasted no time in the National League Wild Card Series, dispatching the Cincinnati Reds with a decisive 2-0 sweep that felt almost too straightforward for a playoff opener. On Tuesday night, September 30, the Dodgers erupted for a 10-5 victory in Game 1 at Dodger Stadium, powered by a barrage of home runs that left the Reds' pitching staff scrambling. Blake Snell, in his Dodgers postseason debut, delivered seven strong innings, allowing just two runs while striking out eight. Teoscar Hernandez and Shohei Ohtani each slugged two homers, turning the game into a Dodgers' fireworks display. Indeed, Ohtani's power surge—his second long ball of the night sealing the deal—underscored why the Dodgers entered as heavy favorites.
Game 2 on Wednesday followed suit, though with a bit more tension early on. The Dodgers jumped ahead and never looked back, securing an 8-4 win to clinch the series and book their ticket to the Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Yoshinobu Yamamoto took the mound for LA, navigating a rocky start to pitch five innings of one-run ball, while the offense chipped in with timely hits from Mookie Betts and others. For the Reds, Nick Martinez and Tony Santillan fought valiantly, but Cincinnati's bats couldn't match the Dodgers' relentless pressure. Reds manager David Bell called it a tough lesson in playoff execution, his team outscored 18-9 over the two games.
This sweep caps a dominant regular season for the Dodgers, who finished atop the NL West with 98 wins, though not without injury hurdles like Yamamoto's earlier absence. The Reds, sneaking in as the No. 6 seed with 88 victories, showed flashes but faltered against LA's star-studded lineup. Blake Treinen closed out Game 2 with a scoreless ninth, his veteran presence a quiet boost. Now, as the Dodgers gear up for Philly—where old rivalries reignite—fans wonder if this momentum will carry them deeper into October. However, playoffs have a way of humbling even the mightiest teams.
With the NLDS looming this weekend, the question lingers: can the Dodgers sustain this early fire, or will the Phillies douse it in a rematch of past epics?