Reds crash into postseason, set to face Dodgers in NL Wild Card Series

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cincinnati came crashing into the postseason on the final day of the regular season, and the callow Reds are riding a surge of momentum they hope will carry them against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

“The dangers are the youthful enthusiasm, the naivete,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “A way to combat that is we have to not take them lightly because it's a really good ballclub. We're playing against a team that essentially feels like they have nothing to lose.”

Hunter Greene (7-4) makes his first postseason start Tuesday night when the sixth-seeded Reds (83-79) return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 with an NL Wild Card Series opener at Dodger Stadium. Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell (5-4) will be on the mound for the third-seeded Dodgers (93-69), who won the NL West for the 12th time in 13 years and are in the wild card for the first time since 2021.

“The only reason I came here was to pitch in October,” Snell said, “and to really challenge myself personally and see how good I am, face the best when the stakes are the highest.”

Cincinnati clinched a postseason berth Sunday, the first time the club has done so on the final day of the regular season. The Reds snagged the National League's third and final wild card when the New York Mets lost to the Miami Marlins. With similar records, the Reds owned the head-to-head tiebreaker after going 4-2 against the Mets during the season.

“We've been playing do-or-die baseball now for what feels like the last month or two. I think we can use that to our advantage,” said Reds second baseman Gavin Lux, who won World Series titles with the Dodgers in 2020 and last year. “It's whoever gets hot and the playoffs are a crapshoot. I'm ready to get out there and try to kick their you-know-whats.”

The Dodgers dominated the Reds during the season, winning five of six and outscoring Cincinnati 30-15.

“Being at home, not having to travel, it’s important for us to strike early and really not let these guys hang around and gain confidence,” Roberts said. “I’ve talked about edge, and just keeping our edge and not kind of giving these guys any opportunity of life.”

The wild card winner advances to a NL Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-8, 2.49 ERA) will start Game 2 for the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Shohei Ohtani (1-1, 2.87) will probably make his postseason pitching debut if the best-of-three series goes to a third game on Thursday, Roberts said.

The two-way superstar didn't pitch for the Dodgers last season while recovering from a second elbow surgery and he never made the playoffs during six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.

At the plate, Ohtani revived himself this month, hitting .312 with 10 home runs and a 1.165 OPS. He finished the regular season with a career-high 55 homers, one more than his 54 homers during his historic 50-50 season in 2024.

Greene took in a couple World Series games as a spectator at Dodger Stadium last season. He grew up a fan of his hometown team and will be pitching in front of family and friends Tuesday, including his father Russell, who coached him as a kid.

“To be here, it’s a full-circle moment," he said. “Just really special.”

The teams are meeting for the second time in the postseason. The Reds swept the Dodgers in three games in the 1995 NL Division Series.

Reds manager Terry Francona guided the Boston Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007 and took Cleveland there in 2016. His 44 postseason wins are tied with Hall of Famer Jim Leyland for seventh in major league history.

Roberts' 56 postseason wins rank sixth overall and include World Series championships in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and last year. He has yet to miss the postseason in 10 years at the helm of the Dodgers.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb