The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their winning streak against the Cincinnati Reds with a series-opening victory at Great American Ballpark.
The Dodgers took all three last week at Dodger Stadium while outscoring Cincinnati 23-6. Overall, the Dodgers have won seven straight regular season games over the Reds and nine straight, including the postseason, dating back to Aug. 25, 2025.
The Dodgers’ magic number to clinch the National League West for the 13th time in the last 14 seasons is now at three. They also clinched a postseason berth with their win for the 14th consecutive season.
Dodgers 4, Reds 1: key takeaways
Kyle Tucker & Teoscar Hernández stay hot
The Dodgers’ offense was led by Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández, who have each been red hot over the previous few weeks and continue to show hope for the Dodgers as they prepare for October.
Tucker put the Dodgers ahead with a solo home run in the second inning, his 15th of the year. The no-doubter was Tucker’s third homer in his last seven games, and in that stretch, he’s batting .304/.346/.826 in 23 at-bats.
Tucker also worked a two-out walk in the fourth inning, and he ended up scoring when Hernández slugged his 14th home run of the season to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead. Hernández is hitting .404/.500/.673 over his last 15 games.
The Dodgers added one more run in the seventh inning when Hernandez took a leadoff walk and then stole second before scoring on a two-out single from Kiké Hernández.
In total, Tucker and Teoscar Hernández were part of all four Dodgers’ runs scored. They also combined to steal two bases, and the Dodgers stole three bags as a team for the second time this season.
Tarik Skubal dominant
Tarik Skubal turned in his best outing since joining the Dodgers as he threw seven shutout innings while allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out nine. Skubal set a career high by getting seven of those strikeouts on his fastball.
The Reds only had three opportunities with runners in scoring position and failed in all of them. Their only real chance to tie the game was in the fifth inning when a single and walk put two runners on, but Skubal struck out the next two hitters to end the inning.
Skubal has now thrown at least seven innings in consecutive outings, both of which came against the Reds. In total, he threw 14.1 innings while allowing just two runs on seven hits with three walks and 14 strikeouts.
This was Skubal’s first start of seven innings and no runs with the Dodgers.
Dodgers bullpen rebounds
One day after the fifth time this season that the Dodgers have been walked off on, and the team’s 30th blown lead loss, the bullpen bounced back to secure the win.
After Skubal’s seven shutout innings, Alex Vesia worked a perfect eighth inning, and then Evan Phillips finished out the game in the ninth, despite allowing a solo homer to Elly De La Cruz.
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