The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their push for the National League’s top seed with a dominant 4-0 road victory over the Cincinnati Reds, powered by a stellar start from ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The Dodgers defeated the Reds 4-0 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Dodgers had already secured their 14th consecutive postseason appearance the previous day, while their lead over the San Diego Padres, who sit second in the NL West, had grown to nine games as of the previous day.
However, Los Angeles remains in a race with the Milwaukee Brewers, the NL Central leaders, for the top seed in order to avoid playing in the Wild Card Series.
With a season record of 92-59 (.609), the Dodgers remained two games behind Milwaukee, which improved to 94-57 with a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The star of the victory was starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He threw 91 pitches over seven innings, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out seven without giving up a run.
Yamamoto earned his 14th win of the season against eight losses, lowering his season ERA to 2.51.
Yamamoto faced an early threat in the bottom of the first inning after issuing consecutive walks to put runners on first and second with no outs. He escaped the jam by inducing an infield fly from Sal Stewart and a flyout from J.J. Bleday.
With two outs and runners on second and third, Yamamoto retired Eugenio Suárez on a ground ball to end the threat.
From there, Yamamoto largely shut down the Reds, allowing only a double to Elly De La Cruz in the bottom of the third inning.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers extended their lead with an RBI single from Hunter Feduccia in the top of the second and a two-run home run by Teoscar Hernández in the third.
Alex Freeland added a solo home run in the top of the seventh, and Yamamoto returned to the mound in the bottom half of the inning to complete another dominant frame.
The Dodgers turned to their bullpen beginning in the eighth inning and held on to their four-run advantage to complete the shutout.
Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani, who is currently on the injured list with biceps and knee injuries, is expected to have a chance to return before the end of the regular season.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game, “It’s not certain yet, but we expect Shohei will be able to play in a few games during the regular season.”
