Cincinnati Reds Wild Card Series Preview

How the Reds Stack Up in the NL Wild Card Series

Starting Pitching: Game 1

Hunter Greene is Cincinnati’s ace and will be taking the bump in Game 1. Greene missed a good chunk of the year with an injury but still tallied up 107 2/3 innings with a 2.76 ERA. This concludes back-to-back dominant seasons for the 26-year-old, and he will look to take on two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.

Snell himself is coming off a season riddled with injuries, but in the 11 starts that he made, he looked as sharp as ever with a 2.35 ERA. The Reds have struggled against left-handed pitching this year, collectively posting a .653 OPS against all southpaws. The good news is, Snell is Los Angeles’ only lefty starter.

Starting Pitching: Game 2

As for Game 2, the Reds will be trotting out lefty Nick Lodolo. Lodolo threw in relief in Game 162 against Milwaukee, but will be ready for limited action by the time Game 2 rolls around. He’s coming off his best season as of yet, with a 3.33 ERA in 156 2/3 innings spanning 28 starts. He will likely go three to four innings, then Chase Burns and Nick Martinez should piggyback off of him until they can get to the back end of the bullpen.

Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto is on the other side. In his second big league season, Yamamoto made 30 starts with a 2.49 ERA in 173 2/3 innings. This Reds lineup will be tasked with trying to knock around a Cy Young-caliber arm in both Game 1 and 2.

Starting Pitching: Game 3

If needed, Game 3 doesn’t get much easier for Cincinnati, as they will have to face Tyler Glasnow. Glasnow was his usual self, missing some starts but still posting a 3.19 ERA in 90 1/3 innings. The good news is that 2025 All-Star Andrew Abbott would be taking the mound, someone they should feel extremely comfortable with. Abbott set career highs in games started (29), innings pitched (166 1/3), ERA (2.87), and strikeouts (149).

Bullpen

The Reds’ bullpen has been nails this year, and they will only get better here in the postseason thanks to the addition of Chase Burns. Closer Emilio Pagan locked down 32 saves thanks to a 2.88 ERA in 68 2/3 innings. Set up man Tony Santillan was just as dominant, with a 2.44 ERA in 73 2/3 innings.

With the eighth and ninth innings locked up, the seventh will most likely go to breakout star Connor Phillips. A year after posting an 8.01 ERA in Triple-A, Phillips recorded a 2.44 ERA in 25 innings. He was tasked with multiple high-leverage situations down the stretch in September. He answered the call with his triple-digit fastball and wipeout sweeper.

The sixth can go to a rotating group of Chase Burns, Graham Ashcraft, or Nick Martinez. It is also worth knowing that if there’s a blowout, Martinez can go for multiple innings in mop-up duty in order to preserve the bullpen for later games.

Offense

The Reds’ lineup is by no means potent, as here’s how they ranked league-wide this season:

14th in runs scored

16th in OBP

19th in OPS

19th in AVG

21st in HRs

24th in wRC+

24th in K%

They’re an average to below-average offense, but with the Dodgers’ bullpen struggles ailing them all season, a big swing or two in late-game situations may just as well be the difference maker. They do have some power bats that they can bring off the bench, such as Will Benson and Sal Stewart.

Trade acquisition Miguel Andujar is also going to play a big part in their offensive production. Elly De La Cruz slumped massively in the second half, but has been hot as of late.

Anything can happen in a short series like this, but Cincinnati will most likely have to win on the backs of their pitching.