The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first wild card team in MLB to advance to the next round after sweeping the Cincinnati Reds in two games, and LA has its top two starting pitchers to thank for the dominant NLWC series.
In Game 1, Blake Snell allowed just two earned runs in seven innings. In Game 2, Yoshinobu Yamamoto shut the door on Cincinnati with zero earned runs across 6 2/3 innings. Both pitchers struck out nine Reds in their respective masterclasses.
The Dodgers’ bullpen was another story entirely. Despite optimistic statements from manager Dave Roberts about his ‘pen, LA’s relievers have struggled all year long, and the Reds series was nothing but a reminder of that.