The Los Angeles Dodgers wasted no time in the National League Wild Card Series, dismantling the Cincinnati Reds with a decisive 10-5 victory in Game 1 on Tuesday night, followed by an 8-4 clincher on Wednesday. It was a sweep that felt almost inevitable, given the Dodgers' powerhouse lineup, but the Reds fought just enough to keep things interesting for a couple of innings. Shohei Ohtani, ever the force, smashed two home runs in the opener, while Teoscar Hernández matched him with a pair of his own, turning Dodger Stadium into a launchpad for five total long balls that night.
Indeed, the offensive barrage overshadowed a strong outing from Blake Snell in his Dodgers postseason debut, where he went seven innings, surrendering just two runs. The Reds, relying on Nick Lodolo to start Game 1, couldn't contain the onslaught; Lodolo lasted only four innings, giving up four earned runs. In Game 2, things didn't improve much for Cincinnati—Nick Martinez took the hill and managed five innings but allowed three runs, as the Dodgers' bats stayed hot with Hernández adding another homer and Mookie Betts contributing key hits. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, though not pitching in this series, looms large for LA's rotation moving forward, his precision likely a factor in manager Dave Roberts' confident rotation plans for the Division Series.
However, the Reds' young core showed flashes—Spencer Steer and Elly De La Cruz provided some pop with extra-base hits—but it wasn't enough against a Dodgers team that's been playoff-bound and dominant all season, finishing with 98 wins. Cincinnati ends their surprising late surge with 85 victories, eliminated just like that. Attendance swelled to over 53,000 both nights, a testament to the buzz around LA's quest for another title.
Roberts praised his team's resilience post-game, noting how they "handled business" without Yamamoto even needing to toe the rubber yet. The Dodgers now shift gears to face the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS starting Friday, where the stakes ratchet up considerably. For the Reds, it's back to the drawing board, pondering what might have been in a shortened series that exposed their pitching vulnerabilities.
As the playoffs heat up, one can't help but wonder how deep this Dodgers squad will go in their title chase.