LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cincinnati Reds 10-5 in the first game of the wild card round at Dodger Stadium Tuesday.
What started as an offensive onslaught by the Dodgers that chased LA-native Hunter Greene away from the mound early turned threatening for the Reds as the innings went, but it was too little, too late.
In the top of the 8th, the Reds made things interesting. Matt McClain scored after Sal Stewart drew a walk. Shortly after, Spencer Steer's single led to Noelvi Marte scoring. Miguel Andujar scored after a walk from Elly De La Cruz. But the Reds couldn't get more runs across with the bases loaded.
The @Reds are making things interesting 👀#Postseason pic.twitter.com/mmamXsGfQm
— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2025
De La Cruz grounded into a force out in the top of the seventh, leading Austin Hays to score the Reds' first playoff run since 2013. De La Cruz went on to score after Tyler Stephenson doubled.
Shohei Ohtani struck early that put the Reds behind from the jump.
In his playoff debut a year ago, Ohtani hit a tying three-run homer in the second inning of the NL Division Series opener against San Diego. Los Angeles rallied for a 7-5 victory and went on to beat the New York Yankees in the World Series.
This year, he got busy even quicker.
Ohtani hit a leadoff homer in the first inning and a two-run drive in the sixth as the Dodgers went deep five times Tuesday night for a 10-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of their NL Wild Card Series.
As usual, Ohtani appeared unruffled stepping into the white-hot spotlight on baseball's biggest stage.
“His focus gets more keen and the at-bat quality is better,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “That’s the reason why he signed to be with this ballclub, this organization, to play in games like this to showcase his other-worldly talent.”
Ohtani's 117.7 mph drive off a 100.4 mph fastball from Reds ace Hunter Greene in the first was the fastest pitch he's homered on in his major league career.
It was Ohtani’s 13th leadoff homer this year, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead as they opened defense of their 2024 World Series championship.
“It was a really hard pitch to hit, but I felt like I reacted pretty well,” Ohtani said through a translator. “I was happy I was able to help the team score early.”
His second homer — a 454-foot drive to right-center off reliever Connor Phillips — came with two outs in the sixth, extending the lead to 8-0. The three-time MVP also struck out three times.
Ohtani hit a career-high 55 homers during the regular season, one more than last year when the two-way superstar from Japan set the previous franchise record and became the first player in major league history with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases.
If the Wild Card Series goes to a deciding third game, Roberts has said Ohtani would “probably” start on the mound Thursday. If the Dodgers sweep the short series, Roberts said Ohtani would “probably” start either the first or second game of a best-of-five Division Series in Philadelphia.
Ohtani has yet to appear on the mound in the playoffs. He didn't pitch last year in his first season with the Dodgers while recovering from a second elbow surgery.
“I expect really fun things this postseason out of Shohei,” Roberts said.
TEOSCAR AND TOMMY GO BACK-TO-BACK. pic.twitter.com/K7H4yGKRNb
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 1, 2025
Game two is scheduled for 9:08 p.m. Wednesday. Game three is scheduled for Thursday at 9:08 p.m. ET. However, if there are only two wild card series remaining (or this is the only series to go to three games), the third game will shift up to around 7:38 p.m. ET.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
