Dodgers punch ticket to NLDS for the 13th straight season

LOS ANGELES — For the 13th consecutive October, the Los Angeles Dodgers are headed to the National League Division Series. That sentence, by now, feels routine—like the sun setting over the Chavez Ravine. But make no mistake: Wednesday night’s 8-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series was anything but ordinary.

This one had it all. Mistakes, redemption, dominance, chaos—and a star-studded lineup that reminded the baseball world why the Dodgers are always dangerous in October.

It started shakily. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the $325 million right-hander brought in to be an October ace, had his first inning extended when Teoscar Hernández misplayed a catchable fly ball. What should’ve ended the frame instead led to a two-run single by Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart. Two unearned runs. A 26-pitch first inning. Dodger Stadium’s volume dropped noticeably.

But Yamamoto didn’t flinch.

What followed was a masterclass in poise. He retired 13 consecutive batters at one point, and when the Reds loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth, Yamamoto became Houdini: a force-out at home, then back-to-back strikeouts—one a beauty of a curveball that buckled Elly De La Cruz.

When he left to a standing ovation in the seventh inning, his final line read: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 9 Ks, and a whole lot of guts.

It’s no secret: the Dodgers live and die with their stars. Mookie Betts? He was the brightest one in the sky on Wednesday night.

Four hits. Three RBIs. Three doubles. Tied a franchise postseason record. His swing was precise, his energy electric. When he pulled into second base with his third double of the night, he screamed toward the dugout, fist raised. That wasn’t just a player pumped up—it was a team leader dragging his squad toward the next round.

Shohei Ohtani added two hits and drove in a key run in the sixth. Teoscar Hernández, after his early miscue, responded like a veteran. His two-run double in the seventh helped break the game open, giving the Dodgers the cushion they would need when things briefly got messy again.

That “cushion” was tested immediately. Emmet Sheehan loaded the bases in the eighth without recording a single out. The ghosts of Dodgers bullpens past started to whisper again. But Alex Vesia cleaned up the mess, striking out TJ Friedl to keep it 8-4.

Then, a glimpse of something new.

Roki Sasaki, the 23-year-old Japanese phenom, was handed the ball in the ninth. The Reds didn’t have a chance. Sasaki flashed 100 mph fastballs, then finished hitters off with devastating splitters. He was in complete control.

If the Dodgers can trust Sasaki in high-leverage moments like these, suddenly this postseason bullpen—which has long been their Achilles’ heel—looks very different.

So now it’s on to the NLDS. The Philadelphia Phillies await—a team that’s had the Dodgers’ number in October, beating them in both the 2008 and 2009 NLCS. But that was a different time, a different team, a different era.

This Dodgers team is built on star power, international flair, and the hard-earned wisdom of past October failures.

Ohtani is lined up to start Game 1 in Philly. Think about that. The best player on the planet, finally healthy, finally on a contender, finally on the biggest stage. The Phillies are tough. Their crowd is brutal. Their rotation is formidable. But if Wednesday night was a preview of how the Dodgers handle adversity, this could be the year they break through again.

The Dodgers’ 13th consecutive trip to the NLDS is a testament to consistency, to culture, to roster construction. But don’t mistake consistency for complacency.

This team is chasing more than another division series appearance. They’re chasing another ring.

And on Wednesday night in Los Angeles, they looked like a team ready to fight for it.