The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team this season to sweep the Cincinnati Reds, as the Dodgers put a cap on a dominant series with a 5-1 win at Dodger Stadium Wednesday night. It is the Reds’ sixth loss in seven games and the fourth time in seven games that they have been held to one run.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (68-66) |
1 | 6 | 0 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers (77-57) | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| W: Shohei Ohtani (1-1) L: Nick Lodolo (8-7) |
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| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Reds threatened early against Shohei Ohtani when Spencer Steer and Jose Trevino drew back-to-back walks and advanced on two wild pitches to create a situation with runners on second and third with only one out in the second inning. However, Ohtani struck out Ke’Bryan Hayes and Matt McLain to end that threat.
Noelvi Marte got the Reds on the scoreboard with a solo home run off an Ohtani 93.2 mph cutter in the third. That would be the extent of their offense in this game. On the mound during the night of his bobblehead giveaway at Dodger Stadium, Ohtani allowed just one run on two hits and two walks with nine strikeouts through five innings. At the plate, he had the Dodgers’ first hit off Nick Lodolo to lead off the fourth inning, ultimately what would be the start of the scoring for Los Angeles.
With one out in the fourth, Andy Pages and Teoscar Hernández reached on bloop singles to right field. Enrique Hernández then singled up the middle just out of the reach of Matt McLain. Lodolo got Conforto to ground out on a close play at first base, but the Reds intentionally walked Miguel Rojas. Dalton Rushing made them pay for it, singling up the middle to score two more Dodger runs and extend the lead to 4-1.
Despite that fourth inning, Lodolo looked really good in his return from the injured list. He rolled through the Dodgers lineup the first time through, including striking out the side in the second inning. Unfortunately, because of the bloop hits and seeing eye singles in the fourth, his pitching line shows that he gave up four runs on five hits through only 4.2 innings. He finished his outing with six strikeouts and only one walk allowed.
The Reds threatened in the seventh when they loaded the bases with two outs after a couple of singles from Jose Trevino and Matt McLain. Justin Wrobleski walked TJ Friedl on four straight pitches to load the bases, but Marte swung at the first pitch he saw and grounded out to the third baseman Hernández to end the inning. The Reds would threaten again in the eighth when Trevino came to the plate as the tying run with two outs, but he struck out against Dodgers pitcher Edgardo Henriquez, who has been not allowed a run since being called up just after the All-Star break.
The Dodgers would add on to the lead in the bottom of the eighth with a Michael Conforto solo home run. The Reds tried to mount a last minute comeback in the ninth, but Elly De La Cruz struck out against Blake Treinen with two runners on base for the 27th and final out of the game.
Key Moment of the Game
Pages’ and Teoscar Hernández’s bloop singles to right field on 69,8 mph and 71.1 mph exit velocities, respectively, propelled the Dodgers to a four-run inning to take the lead that they would not relinquish.
Notes Worth Noting
-Ohtani had his longest outing of the season and his longest outing since August 9, 2023 against the San Francisco Giants. He threw a lot of breaking pitches tonight, with a 26% usage rate for the curveball and an 18% usage rate for the sweeper. He had a whiff rate above 56% on both of those pitches.
-Conner Phillips entered the game in the seventh with one on and one out. He still struggles with control and it was evident as he walked Betts and Teoscar Hernández on eight straight pitches, but he was also able to rebound in the moment, get two outs, and strand the bases loaded to keep it at a three-run deficit at the time.
-The Reds were swept for the first time since August 16-18, 2024, when the Royals swept them at Great American Ball Park.
Up Next
Thursday, August 28: Off Day
Friday August 29, 6:40 PM EDT
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds
Matthew Liberatore (6-11, 4.27 ERA) vs. Zack Littell (9-8, 3.62 ERA)
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