While the Philadelphia Phillies were hanging around waiting for the Wild Card Series to finish, fans were hoping that the Cincinnati Reds could have pushed the Los Angeles Dodgers to a Game 3. Instead, the Dodgers did what everyone expected by bludgeoning the Reds in two quick games at Dodger Stadium.
Los Angeles will now head to Philadelphia to face the Phillies in the National League Division Series beginning on Saturday evening. Just to make things more challenging, thanks to the Reds being unable to force a third and deciding game in the Wild Card, the Dodgers will be starting Shohei Ohtani in Game 1 of the NLDS at Citizens Bank Park.
Dodgers starting Shohei Ohtani against Phillies in Game 1 of NLDS
The Reds taking the Dodgers to a third game, besides giving themselves a chance to advance to the NLDS, would have also helped out the Phillies immensely. The Dodgers playing a third game in three nights, and using up more pitching in the process, would have been a pretty good turn of events for the Phillies as it is.
But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts would also have been forced to use one of his biggest weapons to try to ensure the reigning champs made it through to the NLDS. Ohtani, the two-way unicorn and the best player on the planet, was penciled in to pitch Game 3 of the Wild Card Series on Thursday.
Alas, the Dodgers took care of business on Wednesday. They took a narrow 3-2 edge into the sixth before scoring four and all but sealing the Reds' fate, eventually winning 8-4.
Ohtani just began pitching again in mid-June after elbow surgery late in 2023. Around a couple of rough starts in August, the 31-year-old gradually built up to six innings in his final start of the regular season. He posted a 2.87 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with 62 strikeouts to just nine walks in 47 innings on the mound.
Shohei Ohtani's Back-to-Back Curveballs with 10 mph Difference, Overlay.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 17, 2025
Same exact mechanics! 😲 83mph vs. 73mph. pic.twitter.com/YdwcNbTBMa
The Reds certainly could have given the Phillies a slight reprieve by winning Game 2. Although Phillies hitters would have had to face Ohtani at some point during the NLDS even if it wasn't in Game 1. If you recall, Ohtani dominated the Phillies in their last meeting, throwing five no-hit innings while striking out five and walking one on Sept. 16. The Phillies did come back to win that game 9-6, however, after beating up on the Dodgers' shaky bullpen.
Now their fate is sealed and Ohtani will line up against Phillies emergent ace Cristopher Sánchez in Game 1 of the best-of-five NLDS.