Dodgers look to get red hot against the Reds

I’m pretty sure I use that same or variant title for the last Reds preview, but now it’s more dire than ever that they actually do get hot, and for a prolonged period of time.

The Dodgers salvaged a game in San Diego to keep the division tied, and the offense finally showed signs of life. Manager Dave Roberts challenged the team to do better and although it took them until the seventh inning to get the offense really scoring, they finally did get multiple runs in an inning.

There are now only 31 games

left in the 2025 season. If the season ended today, the Dodgers would not have a bye in the first round, as both the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies have better records. The Dodgers still have a three games series left against the Phillies in L.A. September 15-17, but they have concluded their season series against the Brewers. The Dodgers probably won’t catch the Brewers for NL best record, as they have a six game lead, but they are only two games behind the Phillies in the win column.

And so, they finish up August with a three-game set against the Reds, and then a weekend series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The next six games are at home with an off-day Thursday in between.

The last time the Dodgers faced the Reds, at the end of July, they were also not clicking well as a team and their first game against the Reds was as close to a full team win as they had had in a while. They ended up taking two of three in that series in Cincinnati.

The Reds are currently the first team out in the Wild Card race, sitting 1.5 games behind the New York Mets.

This series starts with the Reds sending Hunter Greene to the mound. The Los Angeles native had been injured for most of the summer but has looked strong in his return from the IL. He’s thrown 85 and 98 pitches in his two games back, going 6+ in both innings. He has 18 strikeouts in those 12.1 innings, and his fastball and sliders have looked like his prime self. He also has yet to walk anyone since his return from the IL.

Since they last faced the Reds, the Dodgers rank 10th in strikeout rate against righties, at 23.8%. The lineup has six hitters carrying strikeout rates over 20% vs right hand pitching, leading to a potentially bad matchup for the Dodgers.

Emmet Sheehan starts for the Dodgers. He faced the Reds in a relief role in the last game of the last series, and allowed three runs in the eighth, which broke the 2-2 tie and gave the Reds the win.

The Dodgers will need to carry the urgency with them through the next two series, series they ‘should’ win. Let’s hope they actually do and don’t regress to the bare minimum offensively.

In some good news, both Enrique Hernandez and Max Muncy are expected back this week and will hopefully add more life to this lineup.