Cincinnati Reds vs Los Angeles Dodgers: Game 2 NLWCS

Photo: Doug Gray

It’s do-or-die for the Cincinnati Reds tonight. After dropping game one, the Reds face elimination tonight with a loss in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. Tonight’s first pitch is scheduled for 9:08pm ET. The game will be on ESPN.

Starting Lineups

Starting Pitchers

Zack Littell

Consistency has been an issue for Zack Littell since being acquired at the trade deadline by the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds are going to need him to have one of his good days today or their season is likely going to come to an end. One of the few Reds to have playoff experience, Littell pitched in the playoffs in 2019, 2021, and 2023. All of his game came out of the bullpen and he allowed five runs in five innings, though in 2023 he threw two perfect innings for Tampa Bay.

The splits this season against Littell aren’t that big, with righties having small advantages across the board. He’s pitched a little better against lefties since joining the Reds than he had when he was with the Rays.

Splits

SplitPAH2B3BHRBBKAVGOBPSLGRHH40595180201567.250.287.455LHH35479151161763.238.276.434

Pitch Usage

4-seam2-seamSliderSplitVelo92.091.385.983.3Usage24%16%33%27%

Yoshinobu Yamamoto

After missing a lot of time in 2024, Yoshinobu Yamamoto made 30 starts for the Dodgers in 2025 and was dominant as he posted a 2.49 ERA to go along with 201 strikeouts. He closed out the year on a brilliant run where he struck out 44 batters and allowed three earned runs in 34.0 innings. At the end of July he allowed one run in 7.0 innings and struck out nine against the Reds. Last year in the playoffs with Los Angeles he threw 18.2 innings with a 3.86 ERA across four starts.

The splits against Yamamota are sizeable and right-handed hitters have an advantage across the board. The problem is that righties still can’t hit him at all, he’s just a lot better against left-handed hitters. Not shown below is that he is worse at home in 2025 where his ERA is 3.04 and hitters have a .603 OPS (it’s just .496 on the road).

Splits

SplitPAH2B3BHRBBKAVGOBPSLGRHH35360901036105.191.276.315LHH3315311042396.174.236.249

Pitch Usage

4-sm2-smCutterCurveSliderSplitVelo95.494.791.176.786.290.9Usage35%8%11%18%3%25%

When and Where

Game time: 9:08pm ETWhere: Dodger StadiumWatch: ESPNListen: 700WLW AM (Cincinnati area)Forecast: 72°, sunny, 5% chance of rain

News and Notes

Breaking Trend

Entering the day 10 of the 12 series in this wild card format had been swept. That didn’t hold true in Cleveland or Chicago earlier today. No team has won the first game of a series in this format and lost the series.

Ending a different streak

Cincinnati has lost seven consecutive playoff games, dating back to 2012.