Takeaways from the Wild Card series
The Dodgers sweep the Reds
Just like that, the Dodgers are onto the NLDS. They took care of business against the Reds, quickly sweeping the series 2-0.
It was relatively easy for LA, though there were still a number of tense moments in the series. Here are my biggest takeaways from the two games.
The offense is alive and well
Despite being one of the top offenses in baseball this season, the Dodgers bats were hot and cold for a lot of the year. There were stretches where they were one of the worst offenses in the league. I forget at what point in the season it was, but I remember writing an article where the bats were ranked in the 20’s in every main category over a pretty lengthy stretch. We knew what this lineup was capable of, but we knew that at any given moment they could have a missing poster go up.
Well, the offense wasn’t missing this series.
In the two games against the Reds, the bats were on fire. Actually, that might be an understatement. They scored 18 runs on 28 hits. Of those 28 hits, 12 were for extra bases. As a team, the Dodgers hit .373 with a 1.107 OPS and 200 wRC+ (!!!!!!)
I know, I know… only two games. But it was remarkable how great they looked at the plate.
Safe to say, if the Dodgers bats perform like this during the postseason they may never lose. Obviously we can’t expect them to hit like this, but it was a great sight to see to begin the series.
The Dodgers weren’t facing slouches, either. The Reds had some pretty solid pitching options. It didn’t matter, as the Dodgers hit pretty much every arm they saw.
I don’t expect the Dodgers to be scoring 8+ runs a game moving forward, but if they can consistently get guys on base and hit XBH’s, it’ll be very difficult to stop this team.
The starters were even BETTER than advertised
Remember last year when the Dodgers didn’t have any starters heading into October? Ahhhhh, good times. That’s quite the opposite this year.
Over the final month of the season, the Dodgers had by far the best starting rotation in baseball. During the month of September, LA’s rotation posted a 2.07 ERA. The next closest team was Cleveland at 2.60. With a fully healthy rotation, we saw the potential of LA’s starters.
The hot September carried into the Wild Card, as the Dodgers got two dominant starts from Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
We’ll start in Game 1 with Blake Snell. You couldn’t have asked for a better start to the series. He gave the Dodgers seven strong innings. For Snell, it was the first time he had pitched into the seventh inning in his postseason career.
Over his seven innings, Snell allowed only two runs on four hits. He issued one walk and struck out nine. The Reds couldn’t get anything going off him and Snell was in cruise control all night. Had it not been for a couple baserunners in the seventh inning, Snell likely could have pitched into the eighth.
After missing most of the season with an injury, Snell was dominant after returning from the injured list. That dominance seems to have carried into October.
Speaking of dominance, let’s talk about Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He gave the Dodgers 6.2 innings, allowing zero earned runs. He allowed four hits and two walks while striking out nine.
His start was a little more stressful than Snell’s, but it was still great. An error from Teoscar Hernandez in the first inning allowed two runs to score and forced Yamamoto to throw an additional 12 pitches. Without that error, Yamamoto likely goes another inning. He settled down after that and was untouchable until the sixth inning.
In the sixth, the Reds loaded the bases with zero outs against Yamamoto. At this point, my hope was to somehow get out of it down by only one run. Instead, the Dodgers got out of it up one run. I’m not exactly sure how Yamamoto pulled it off, but he managed to escape the jam without allowing a single run.
He proved it in the postseason last year. He proved it all season and it proved it last night. No game is too big for Yamamoto. You can turn to him and can know you’re going to get an ace level performance.
The Dodgers are going to have to ask for a lot from their starters during this playoff run. Getting two starts like that to begin October was sure a good feeling.
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The bullpen is still a problem
The Dodgers are going to need their starters to pitch at least seven innings every start because this bullpen still can’t be trusted.
The offense scored 18 runs. Each starter pitched into the seventh inning and allowed two runs or fewer. Despite that, the Reds had chances to win BOTH GAMES. How the hell is that even possible?
Well, the bullpen is still a concern.
I don’t have to tell you that the Dodgers bullpen was terrible this season. If you watched one game you could have figured that out for yourself. Well, like with the starting pitching, that seems to have carried into the postseason.
In the two games, the bullpen combined to throw 4.1 innings. They allowed five runs on five hits an issued SEVEN walks. Of the 25 batters they faced, 12 reached base. That is almost 50 PERCENT. Had these games been closer, there’s a strong chance the Dodgers are playing in Game 3 tonight. There’s also a chance the series is over because the Reds swept both games.
At this point, I’m not even really sure who I trust at this point. It feels like every arm that entered the game struggled at some point. I’ll give some credit to Blake Treinen, because he actually looked solid in both of his outings. But with how his 2025 went, how confident can you be with him?
The bullpen is the only concern I have with this team. It really does feel like the Dodgers need to either score 10+ runs or have their starter go at least eight innings to have a shot at winning. Hopefully things can turn around in the NLDS, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
Have the Dodgers found their closer?
Despite the bullpen looking terrible, there was actually a bright spot. I know it was only one inning, but I really do think I’ve seen enough. The Dodgers need to turn to Roki Sasaki to be their closer.
Can you imagine reading that a month ago? You’d think I was crazy. I might still be crazy even saying that. That’s where we’re at with this bullpen. The rookie may actually be LA’s best option to close games at this point.
Sasaki returned from the IL during the last week of the season. He made two appearances out of the bullpen and looked great. In two innings, Sasaki faced seven batters. He allowed one hit and struck out four.
Dave Roberts turned to Sasaki in the ninth inning of Game 2, asking the rookie to close things out and end the series. This may have been the best Sasaki has looked all season.
Sasaki needed only 11 pitches to retire the side in order. He struck out the first two hitters and retired the third on a weakly hit lineout. His fastball touched 101 mph. His splitter looked deadlier than ever. Sasaki looked like a true lockdown closer.
We’ve only seen him toss three innings since being called up from OKC. He’s spent most of the season away from the club. Asking him to be the closer would be an unfair thing to do. I don’t think the Dodgers really have another choice.
Until proven otherwise, there isn’t a better option in the bullpen at the moment. Treinen looked good in his two appearances, but I’d like to see more. The other options aren’t reliable at the moment. Roki Sasaki might truly be LA’s best option to close games this October.
This can’t be what the Dodgers envisioned when they signed the 23-year-old phenom out of Japan, but I don’t think they have another option at this point. If they need three outs to win a game, Sasaki is their best current option.
Emmet Sheehan didn't have it last night but I still like him as a bridge from the starter to the bullpen. His stuff was great down the stretch.
Tyler Glasnow is an afterthought right now and not even starting on Saturday. That is how good the starting pitching is at the moment.