#nlwc

Reds 4 Dodgers 8 W-Yamamoto (1-0) L-Littell (0-1)

The Los Angeles Dodgers nearly blew an eight-run lead last night and held on for a Game 1 win. The second game was tonight and the Reds were ready early. Spencer Steer started it all when he was hit by a pitch and Austin Hays reached on an error by Teoscar Hernandez. Sal Stewart singled home a pair and Cincinnati had a two-run lead before Los Angeles grabbed a bat. The Dodgers found some offense in the third as Ben Rortvedt led-off with a double. He reached third on a groundball and Mookie Betts singled him home. LA was within a run and got back to work in the fourth. Max Muncy led-off with a base hit and Kike Hernandez doubled him home to even the game at two apiece. Miguel Rojas dumped a run-scoring single to right to put the Dodgers on top. Los Angeles added insurance runs in the sixth as Kike Hernandez singled off the third base bag. Ben Rortvedt reached on a Sal Stewart error and Shohei Ohtani singled home a run. Mookie Betts plated another run with a double to left. Freddie Freeman was intentionally walked and Tesocar Hernandez doubled in a pair. This capped off a four-run sixth and the Dodgers lead grew to five. The Dodgers kept adding on in the seventh as MIguel Rojas single dand Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked. Mookie Betts singled home another run to put the Dodgers up by six after seven frames. The Reds made some noise again in the eighth as Gavin Lux singled and reached second on a misplay by Kike Hernandez. Austin Hays walked and Sal Stewart singled in a run. The Reds loaded up the bases and Tyler Stephenson hit a sac fly to left. Alex Vesia got out of a big jam in the eighth and Roki Sasaki had a 1-2-3 ninth as the Dodgers advanced to the next round tonight.

-Final Thoughts- Yoshi Yamamoto was great with 6 2/3 solid innings. He gave up two runs on four hits with two walks and nine strikeouts. Blake Treinen got out of the seventh, Emmet Sheehan gave up two runs in 1/3 of an inning, and Alex Vesia got out of his jam. Roki Sasaki fanned two in the ninth. Mookie Betts had four hits and knocked in three. Teoscar Hernandez, Miguel Rojas, and Ben Rortvedt had two hits each. The Dodgers hit 6-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left eleven men on base. The Dodgers will head to Philadelphia to play the Phillies in the NLDS. Tyler Glasnow should face Ranger Suarez in Game 1 on Saturday.

Cincinnati Reds Lineup LA Dodgers Lineup

1.) TJ Friedl CF 1.) Shohei Ohtani DH

2.) Spencer Steer LF 2.) Mookie Betts SS

3.) Gavin Lux DH 3.) Freddie Freeman 1B

4.) Austin Hays RF 4.) Teoscar Hernandez RF

5.) Sal Stewart 1B 5.) Max Muncy 3B

6.) Elly De La Cruz SS 6.) Andy Pages CF

7.) Tyler Stephenson C 7.) Kike Hernandez LF

8.) Ke'Bryan Hayes 3B 8.) Miguel Rojas 2B

9.) Matt McLain 2B 9.) Ben Rortvedt C

SP Zack Littell RHP SP Yoshinobu Yamamoto RHP

(10-8) 3.81 ERA (12-8) 2.49 ERA

(2025 MLB Stats)

National League Wild-Card Game 2

Reds 5 Dodgers 10 W-Snell (1-0) L-Greene (0-1)

The Los Angeles Dodgers faced a lot of adversity this year following their World Series Title. They still won the National League West and faced the Reds tonight at Dodger Stadium to start the Wild-Card round. Shohei Ohtani was ready from the start as he belted a Hunter Greene fastball out to right for a lead-off home run. This put Los Angeles up by a run after an inning of play. The Dodgers added on in the third as Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy walked. Tesocar Hernandez smoked a Hunter Greene slider out to left for a three-run homer. Tommy Edman followed and hammered a slider out to right for a solo shot of his own. The Dodgers added one more in the sixth when Teoscar Hernandez smacked a Connor Phillips fastball out to right for a solo homer. The bats stayed hot in Los Angeles as Kike Hernandez singled and Shohei Ohtani obliterated a Connor Phillips sweeper out to right for a two-run homer in the sixth. The Reds found some offense in the seventh when Austin Hays and Spencer Steer singled. Elly De La Cruz beat out a would-be double play to plate a run and Cincinnati was on the board. Tyler Stephenson doubled home a run to pull the Reds within six. The Dodgers got some back in the seventh as Miguel Rojas singled and Alex Call dumped a single to right. A throw got away from Noelvi Marte to plate a run and Ben Rortvedt singled home another one. The Reds wouldn’t give up in the eighth when they loaded the bases. Sal Stewart drew a bases loaded walk and Spencer Steer singled home another. Elly De La Cruz drew a bases loaded walk and Jack Dreyer eventually got out of the jam. Blake Treinen had a scoreless ninth and the Dodgers took Game 1 of the Wild-Card series tonight.

-Final Thoughts- Blake Snell was good tonight. He sailed through six innings and had trouble in the seventh. He went seven innings and allowed two runs on four hits with a walk and nine strikeouts. Alex Vesia gave up two runs and Edgardo Hernandez showed some playoff nerves. Jack Dreyer eventually got out of the eighth. Blake Treinen fanned two in the ninth. Teoscar Hernandez had three hits on the night and two homers. Shohei Ohtani hit two homers. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Kike Hernandez had two hits each. The Dodgers hit 2-for-8 with men in scoring position and left nine men on base. Tomorrow, Zack Littell faces Yoshi Yamamoto in Game 2.