CINCINNATI — The Reds finally won a game Sunday. Unfortunately, Tarik Skubal was waiting for them Monday.
Skubal allowed three hits and struck out nine across seven scoreless innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated Cincinnati 4-1 at Great American Ball Park, clinching their 14th consecutive postseason appearance.
Kyle Tucker gave Los Angeles an early lead by launching his 15th home run of the season during the second inning. Teoscar Hernández extended the advantage in the fourth, sending a Nick Lodolo pitch over the right-center-field wall for a two-run homer.
Those two swings provided more than enough support for Skubal, who had filthy stuff all night long.
Cincinnati managed four baserunners against the left-hander, collecting three singles and one walk. The Reds never advanced a runner beyond second base during his seven innings.
Lodolo pitched better than the final score suggests, allowing only three hits across seven innings. Unfortunately, two of those hits left the ballpark.
The left-hander surrendered four runs, walked four and struck out four while falling to 3-5. Enrique Hernández accounted for Los Angeles’ other run with a seventh-inning single that scored Teoscar Hernández.
Luis Mey and Tony Santillan combined to keep the Dodgers scoreless over the final two innings, but Cincinnati’s offense remained silent until the ninth.
Elly De La Cruz finally broke through by launching his 27th home run of the season, a bomb that literally left the park, and according to John Sadak, skipped into the Ohio river.
After escaping Milwaukee with a victory Sunday, the Reds returned home and ran directly into one of baseball’s best pitchers. That, as they say, is how the cookie crumbles.
What’s Next: Cincinnati continues its four-game series against Los Angeles Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. ET. Rhett Lowder is scheduled to start for the Reds.
