The Los Angeles Dodgers are returning to the NLDS for the 13th straight season.
Los Angeles responded from a 2-0 first-inning deficit on Wednesday night to sweep the Cincinnati Reds out of the wild-card round with an 8-4 victory.
Mookie Betts led the way with four hits, three doubles in three RBIs, as the Dodgers backed a solid showing from Yoshinobu Yamamoto with a second straight strong performance at the plate.
The bottom of Los Angeles’s order played a major part in the offensive outburst, as each of Kiké Hernández, Miguel Rojas and Ben Rortvedt recorded two hits in the game.
Yamamoto finished his game with nine strikeouts over 6.2 innings. He allowed two runs, but both were unearned after Teoscar Hernández dropped a flyball, allowing Reds infielder Sal Stewart to single home two.
Stewart, a 21-year-old rookie, became the youngest Cincinnati hitter to record a post-season RBI with the hit.
He added another RBI single in the eighth.
The Dodgers will now advance to a heavyweight NLDS matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies. The two NL powerhouses haven’t met in the playoffs since 2009.
By securing the two-game sweep over the Reds, Los Angeles didn’t have to use either of Shohei Ohtani or Tyler Glasnow in the series, meaning the duo should be set to pitch in the next round, which begins on Saturday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
More to come.
