There are many things to critique about the way the Cincinnati Reds crashed out of the playoffs in Wednesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the gist is that it was via an 8-4 loss in Dodger Stadium.
They loaded the bases with nobody out early (and the heart of their order due up) and didn’t plate a single run. Austin Hays hit against RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto despite having barely played for the last two weeks, while Will Benson sat on the bench in that big spot.
They loaded them up again, and
didn’t score. Then they did it again.
Terry Francona left Zack Littell in two batters too long with Nick Lodolo warm and ready, and despite Lodolo absolutely dealing the lefty was pulled for Nick Martinez after just 14 pitches. Martinez, of course, then got shelled for 4 runs while recording a lone out in what will certainly be his final appearance for the club.
All-Star Andrew Abbott never pitched in the entire series.
While Tito rarely pulled any of the right levers this entire short series, the reality is that the Los Angeles Dodgers have been in these scenarios every year for years, and were ready. They were at home, for one, and their big-time players who always show up this time of year punched their timecards and showed right up again.
The Reds don’t have anyone like that. They won’t spend to find players like that, and the result is that they never make it deep enough in the season to let their young guys have the chance to emerge into them. It cannot be lost on you that Kiké Hernandez (LF), Miguel Rojas (2B), and Ben Rortvedt (the #9 hitter on Wednesday) combined to go 6 for 11 with 4 runs scored – and that’s precisely where Gavin Lux, were he not traded to the Reds last offseason as a big addition to Cincinnati’s roster – would have been hitting were he still there.
It’s simply not at all at the same level. In order for the the Reds to even begin to show a chance in this kind of unique, once-a-decade scenario, they not only have to thread the needle to even get on the stage, but then also have their manager thread the needle perfectly with decision after decision and see those comparative advantages play out over and over again.
It’s an impossible ask. It always was. The Los Angeles Dodgers were made for this, not the regular season, while the 2025 Cincinnati Reds spent six and a half months just trying to figure out what the hell they were anyway.
They learned a lot, those Reds, but they didn’t figure it out. Or, if they did, they figured out quickly they were not the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The end result was that the Reds played a pair of games beyond the regular season, lost them both, and finished with an overall record of 83 games won and 81 lost on their ledger. It’s a scenario much similar to the abbreviated 2020 season in which their playoff misfortunes rendered them an even .500 team after 62 total games played. This, I should reiterate, is what we’ve waited for – and waded through – as the Reds continue their neverending rebuild.
The hope is that this kind of bad-taste will energize the roster for 2026, since you can bank on the fact they won’t be throwing money at the problems. They didn’t get any gate at a home playoff game despite making the playoffs, after all. It’s disappointing, if not highlighting, and frustrating all the way around.
Goodnight, 2025 Reds season. You had your moments, your foibles, and ultimately land in the same damn folder where every season has landed for the last 30 years.
