Dodgers rally to sweep Reds in NL Wild Card and set up clash with Phillies in NLDS

For a fleeting moment in the top of the first inning Wednesday night, it felt like the Los Angeles Dodgers might be walking into one of those cursed October nights. 

Teoscar Hernández had settled under a can-of-corn fly ball that should have ended the inning without damage. Instead, it clanged off his glove, bouncing into the grass as two Reds runners scrambled into scoring position. 

Seconds later, Sal Stewart sent them both home, staking Cincinnati to an improbable two-run early lead, leaving Hernández standing in right field with his head down, knowing he’d gifted his opponents two unearned runs.

“That kind of stuff can not happen, especially in games like this,” said Hernández after the error. “I told Yoshi [Yamamoto] I’m sorry. Because of my error I made him throw an extra 10-15 pitches.”

But the postseason has a way of twisting mistakes into storylines. In this case, the Dodgers refused to let that error define them. 

Behind the steady brilliance of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and a late offensive eruption, the Dodgers stormed back for a 8–4 win in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series, completing a two-game sweep that sends them into a heavyweight Division Series matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies.

“We didn’t waver even after that first inning,” said Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts. “Guys stayed positive, stayed within themselves, kept taking good at-bats.”

The Dodgers’ response came with quiet urgency. Down 2–0, they chipped away until the deficit felt like an illusion. Mookie Betts lined a run-scoring double into the left field corner in the third inning to put the Dodgers on the board.

One inning later, Kiké Hernández — who has made a career out of October moments — squared up a pitch and drilled it into the right-center gap, tying the game at two. The energy shifted immediately, Dodger blue jerseys bouncing in the dugout railings as if they could sense what was coming next.

“I know they brought me here for these type of moments,” said Hernández. He manager agreed.

“October Kiké is something pretty special,” said Roberts. “And the track record speaks for itself. Throughout history, he’s one of the best throughout history of the postseason.”

Miguel Rojas, one of the lineup’s more unheralded contributors, stepped up moments later with two outs and a runner on second. His opposite-field single dropped softly in front of right fielder Austin Hays, bringing home the go-ahead run.

And from there the Dodgers would never look back. 

Thankfully for Los Angeles, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was more than up to the task. Making his first start of the 2025 postseason, the 27-year-old showcased why the Dodgers invested so heavily in him in the winter of 2023. 

His splitter darted beneath bats, his fastball commanded both sides of the plate, and his composure never wavered — not even when the game threatened to spiral out of control in the sixth inning.

Protecting a one-run lead, Yamamoto allowed three consecutive Reds to reach base, loading the bags with no outs. Roberts had veteran reliever Blake Treinen tossing in the bullpen, but he stayed glued to the dugout rail, allowing Yamamoto to remain on the mound center-stage.

“He isn’t too big for any moment,” said Roberts of Yamamoto. “He has the ability to make pitches when he needs to. He always seems like the best option. He’s a really big-game pitcher.”

Yamamoto rewarded him with the inning of his young MLB career. First, a ground ball turned into a force out at the plate. Then, with the crowd roaring, Yamamoto struck out back-to-back hitters to escape the inning unscathed. He stomped off the mound with his fist raised, his six shutout innings preserved despite the two unearned runs in the first.

“Given that game situation, I didn’t want to allow any hits,” Yamamoto said of the bases loaded, no outs jam. “And also the first out, which was inducing a ground ball, that kept the runners. I tried to keep runners away from advancing. So I think that was good.”

Yamamoto’s line: 6.2 innings, four hits, two walks, nine strikeouts. Zero earned runs.

By the time the bottom of the sixth arrived, the Dodgers’ offense was ready to close the door. Shohei Ohtani flicked an RBI single to center to extend the lead. Betts followed with his second run-scoring double of the night. And then, redemption arrived for Teoscar Hernández.

The same man who had muffed the first-inning fly ball came up with two on and lashed a sharp single to right, driving home both and putting Los Angeles ahead 7–2. He raised his arms out wide and celebrated as he arrived on second base, exhaling the weight of the game’s opening mistake.

The Dodgers bullpen took the wind out of the winning sails for the second night in a row, but the 18 total runs in the series by the offense was more than enough to complete the sweep. Roki Sasaki pitched a scoreless ninth in his first taste of the postseason for the prized rookie from Japan.

“I trust him, and he’s going to be pitching in leverage,” said Roberts of Sasaki. So the more you pitch guys and play guys, you learn more. So, like I said about Yamamoto, I don’t think the moment’s going to be too big for Roki.”

Betts finished with six hits, including three RBI doubles in the series. He joined Jim Gilliam (1953 World Series) as the only Dodgers players to hit three doubles in a postseason game. Ohtani hit two homers in Game 1 of the series, and knocked in four runs. Teoscar Hernández had 6 RBI in the series and also had a pair of homers in Game 1. Kiké Hernandez had four hits and three runs scored.

With the sweep secure, the Dodgers now face what might be their toughest test yet: the World Series favorites, the Philadelphia Phillies. The series, beginning this weekend at Citizens Bank Park, pits two rosters that mirror each other in power, depth, and star wattage. The Phillies, led by Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber, boast a lineup and rotation built for October. The Dodgers counter with Betts, Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and an equally lethal if not, greater starting rotation. 

It’s a matchup baseball purists dream of — two of the sport’s most iconic franchises colliding under the October lights. For the Dodgers, it’s another chance to prove that their depth and star power can carry them through the kind of battles that define postseason runs.

And so, with the echoes of Teoscar’s redemption still bouncing around Chavez Ravine, the Dodgers board a plane to Philadelphia, their eyes on a bigger prize and their confidence built on the kind of comeback that October baseball demands.

“I think we match up really well with those guys,” said Roberts of the Phillies. “They’re talented, all throughout the lineup. It’s going to be a fun series.”

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