Ohtani, Hernández Power Dodgers Past Reds 10–5 in Playoff Slugfest/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández each homered twice as the Dodgers crushed the Reds 10–5 in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series. Blake Snell pitched seven dominant innings with nine strikeouts, while L.A. matched a franchise playoff record with five home runs. The Reds made a late push, but shaky bullpen work wasn’t enough to derail the Dodgers’ explosive start.
Los Angeles – Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández put on a postseason power show as the Los Angeles Dodgers crushed the Cincinnati Reds 10–5 in Game 1 of their National League Wild Card Series on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
The duo combined for four home runsincluding a leadoff blast from Ohtani and a three-run shot by Hernández that set the tone early. The Dodgers pounded out 15 hits and five homerstying a franchise playoff recordas they began their bid to become the first repeat World Series champions in 25 years.
Ohtani, who led MLB with 55 homers during the regular season, wasted no time making an impact in the postseason. In the bottom of the first, he crushed a 117.7 mph leadoff homer off Reds ace Hunter Greenewho was throwing a 100.4 mph fastball — the fastest pitch Ohtani has ever homered on in the majors.
Ohtani later added a towering 454-foot, two-run homer in the sixth inning off Connor Phillips, finishing with two home runs and three strikeouts in a true boom-or-bust night at the plate.
Blake Snellthe reigning NL Cy Young winner, delivered one of the best postseason starts of his career. He retired the first eight batters he faced and struck out nine over seven inningsallowing just three hits and two earned runs.
The only hit he surrendered through six was a third-inning double by Matt McClain. The Reds finally got on the board in the seventh via an Elly de la Cruz Groundout and a Tyler Stephenson RBI double.
Reds starter Hunter Greenepitching in his hometown of Los Angeles, couldn’t overcome the moment. He lasted just three inningsallowing five runs and three home runs on 65 pitches. Greene walked three and struck out four in what manager Terry Francona called a “disappointing outing.”
Greene’s struggles were evident in the third inning, when he walked Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy back-to-back. After a wild pitch advanced both runners, Teoscar Hernández drilled a three-run homer to left. Tommy Edman followed with a solo shotpushing the Dodgers ahead 5–0.
Hernández wasn’t done. Facing Phillips in the fifth, he launched another two-strike homerfinishing the night with two homers and four RBIs.
The Dodgers bullpen nearly opened the door for a Reds comeback in the eighth. Relievers Alex Vesia, Edgardo Henriquezand Jack Dreyer combined to walk four batters and allowed three runs in a laborious inning that required 59 pitches to complete.
Despite the late push, Cincinnati couldn’t close the gap. The Dodgers maintained control thanks to the cushion built by their explosive offense.
The Dodgers will look to close out the series Wednesday night. They’ll send Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12–8, 2.49 ERA) to the mound against Reds right-hander Zack Littell (10–8, 3.81 ERA). A win would send L.A. to a Division Series matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies.
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