The Dodgers will face the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of a National League Wild-Card Series Tuesday evening at Dodger Stadium, needing 13 postseason victories for the first back-to-back World Series championships in franchise history.
This is the first time the Dodgers have had to play in a Wild-Card Series under the current format, which began in 2022. They received byes each of the past three years for having one of the two best records among the National League's three division champions.
However, their 93-69 record this season put them behind the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers (97-65) and the NL East champion Philadelphia Phillies (96-66)
The 6:08 p.m. game will be televised on ESPN and broadcast in English by KLAC-AM (570) and in Spanish by KTNQ-AM (1020).
The Reds earned the NL's third and final wild-card berth with a 83-79 record, matching the New York Mets, but winning the first tiebreaker, head-to- head record, four games to two.
Cincinnati was 2 1/2 games out of the last playoff berth Sept. 14, then won six of their next seven games, moving into a tie with the Mets. The Reds lost their next two games to fall a game behind, but won three of their last four games while New York split its final four games.
Cincinnati qualified for the postseason for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when the field was expanded to eight teams in each league from five the previous season. This is the Reds' first appearance in the postseason in a full season since the 2013 wild-card game.
The Reds have not won a postseason series since 1995, when they swept the Dodgers 3-0 in an NL Division Series, the only previous postseason meeting between the teams.
Ahead of Tuesday night’s game, KNX News’ Jon Baird spoke with Dodgers fans in the Marina District.
One man said he’s not as confident as he was last year.
“Well, as long as their bullpen holds up, that's the key,” he said. “So I'm not worried about starting pitching, but getting back to the World Series. That's a tough road.”
Another man, Pedro, also said it’s about the bullpen.
“If we can hold some leads late, we should be all right,” he said.
Mark Langill, the Dodgers’ historian, told Baird you never know what will happen in the postseason.
“That's what draws us to it,” he said. “That's what drives us crazy is because what you think is going to happen probably is not going to happen, and you hope that the surprise is a pleasant surprise instead of a heartbreak.”
Left-hander Blake Snell will start Tuesday for the Dodgers while the Reds will counter with right-hander Hunter Greene, a 2017 graduate of Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks.
Snell is 4-4 with a 3.78 ERA since being activated off the injured list Aug. 2 after being sidelined since April 3 due to left shoulder inflammation. The Dodgers were 5-4 in his nine starts since he returned to the mound. Overall, Snell was 5-4 with a 2.35 ERA on the season, with the Dodgers posting a 7-4 record.
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Snell did not face Cincinnati this season. He is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA lifetime against the Reds. He pitched his lone career no-hitter the most recent time he faced Cincinnati -- on Aug. 2, 2024, as a member of the San Francisco Giants.
Snell on Monday called the no-hitter "so long ago."
"They've changed. I've changed. A lot's changed," Snell said. "And this is a postseason game so stakes are higher."
Greene was 7-4 with a 2.76 ERA in the regular season, which included stints on the injured list from May 9-23 and June 4-Aug. 13 because of a right groin strain. The Reds were 11-8 in his 19 starts.
He is 1-3 with a 4.55 ERA in five starts against the Dodgers. He faced them once in 2025, allowing five runs, three earned, and six hits in five innings in a 7-0 loss at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 25.
Dodger designated hitter Shohei Ohtani is 1-for-7 lifetime with a triple against Greene for a .143 batting average.
The Dodgers were 5-1 against Cincinnati in the regular season, including 3-0 at Dodger Stadium.
Clayton Kershaw will not be on the Dodgers' roster for this series, manager Dave Roberts said because he threw "a full ramp-up" Sunday. Kershaw will be on the roster for the Division Series against Philadelphia should the team advance, Roberts said.
Kershaw has announced he will retire following the conclusion of the season.
The entire best-of-three series will be played at Dodger Stadium.
The winner will advance to face the Phillies in an NL Division Series set to begin Saturday in Philadelphia.
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