Reds vs. Dodgers Prediction, Picks for NL Wild Card: Yoshinobu Yamamato, 2 More

The Los Angeles Dodgers can finish off a two-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Wild Card round tonight. First pitch is set for 9:00 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium, and the game will be aired on ESPN.

Check out our Reds vs. Dodgers prediction for this matchup as Los Angeles looks to advance to the NLDS against Philadelphia.

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Reds vs. Dodgers Prediction, Preview for 10/1/25

The Reds fell behind early on Tuesday and could never recover in a 10-5 loss to the Dodgers. DH Shohei Ohtani drilled a home run to lead off the bottom of the first inning and L.A. began its scoring barrage on Cincinnati P Hunter Greene.

The Dodgers led 8-0 in the seventh inning and improved to 7-2 at home in the playoffs since last season’s run to a World Series title.

Cincinnati Reds

There wasn’t a lot of hope for the Reds heading into this series against the defending champions.

All five of Cincinnati’s runs came in the final three innings when the game was already out of reach. The Reds have allowed the Dodgers to score 5 or more runs in six of seven matchups this season.

Los Angeles Dodgers 

The Dodgers have outscored the Reds, 28-9 at home in four victories this season. Los Angeles has hit 10 home runs in those games, including 5 long balls in Tuesday’s rout.

In the past nine home playoff games at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles has knocked out 16 home runs. It marked the second-straight postseason that Ohtani has homered in the opening game of the playoffs.

Reds vs. Dodgers Picks & MLB DFS

Dodgers P Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Reds Projection: 17.5 Pitching Outs

• Yamamoto has recorded 18 or more outs in six of his last seven starts.
• The righty posted 7 innings against Cincinnati in a 5-2 victory on July 28. Yamamoto allowed 4 hits and 1 run, while striking out 9 batters.
• In four of six regular-season matchups, Dodgers starting pitchers failed to pitch more than 5 innings. In Tuesday’s victory, P Blake Snell tossed 7 innings so the bullpen should be fresh tonight.
• In each of his last six home starts, Yamamoto has racked up at least 98 pitches.
• Cincinnati’s hitters are batting .175 against Yamamoto, including striking out 15 times.

Reds P Zack Littell vs. Dodgers Projection: 3 Strikeouts

• In all 10 starts Littell has made in Cincinnati since getting traded from Tampa Bay, he has compiled at least 3 strikeouts.
• The righty didn’t face the Dodgers this season, and has zero career appearances against Ohtani. Littell has silenced Dodgers 2B Mookie Betts, limiting him to 1 hit in 9 at-bats to go along with 2 strikeouts.
• In four of six road starts with the Reds, he eclipsed the 4-strikeout mark.
• The Dodgers have struck out at least 4 times in eight of the last 10 games against righthanded starting pitchers. 
• Littell owns a K rate of 17.1%, ranking in the 12th percentile in MLB. The Dodgers finished tied for 18th in the league in strikeout rate at 21.9%.

Dodgers RF Teoscar Hernandez vs. Reds Projection: 1.5 Hits+Runs+RBIs

• Hernandez hit a pair of home runs in Tuesday’s victory and finished with 3 hits.
• He extended his hitting streak to seven games, while drilling his first home run since September 23 against Arizona.
• In the final 12 games of the regular season, Hernandez drove in 5 runs. Last night, he recorded 4 RBIs, marking his fourth game this season with at least 4 runs driven in.
• In five of his previous six home games, Hernandez was limited to fewer than 1 combined hit, run, and RBI.
• Hernandez has picked up 2 hits in 4 at-bats against Littell, but has also struck out twice.

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The Wednesday night playoff card finishes up in Los Angeles as the Dodgers look to knock out the Reds and advance to the NLDS for the 13th straight season.

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