Dodgers 4, Reds 1: Skubal's Seven Scoreless Clinch a 14th Straight Berth

Seven innings, three hits, and a berth that matched Atlanta's record

September 14, 2026 - Cincinnati - Tarik Skubal threw seven shutout innings on 90 pitches. Nine strikeouts. One walk. Three hits. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-1 and clinched a 14th consecutive playoff berth, tying the record Atlanta set from 1991 through 2005, the Associated Press recap said. Milwaukee and Tampa Bay had already punched in. Los Angeles became the third club assured of October.

Clear, 77 degrees. Wind 6 mph, in from left. First pitch 6:41 p.m. Attendance 22,807. The game lasted 2 hours, 14 minutes. Los Angeles had three hits. All three scored. That is a 4-1 that does not look like a slugfest and still ends a race that had already been a formality for weeks.

The Dodgers are 91-59. The AP recap said their magic number is three for a fifth straight National League West title and a 13th in 14 seasons. The two-time defending World Series champions did not need a 14-1 this time. They needed Skubal, and they had him. Cincinnati is 70-80.

Tucker in the second, Hernández in the fourth, three hits that all counted

Kyle Tucker led off the second by driving an up-and-in fastball from Nick Lodolo into the right-field seats, the AP recap said. His 15th homer. His third in five games. 1-0. Mookie Betts had already made an out. Will Smith had already made an out. Tucker did not wait for a rally. He made the inning himself.

Tucker walked with two outs in the fourth. Teoscar Hernández homered to right-center, his 14th. 3-0. Two of Los Angeles' three hits were already homers. Enrique Hernández added the third in the seventh, a line-drive single to center that scored Teoscar. 4-0. The AP recap put that in one sentence: all three of Los Angeles' hits ended up resulting in runs. Betts went 0-for-4. Max Muncy went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. The middle of the order did not need a hit. The 3-4-adjacent names did.

Lodolo (3-5) went seven: three hits, four runs, four walks, four strikeouts, two homers, 104 pitches. He matched Skubal on innings and lost on the two balls that left the yard. Luis Mey and Tony Santillan threw a scoreless eighth and ninth. The Reds' bullpen did not get a lead to hold.

Nine strikeouts, a 457-foot answer, and 3-2 since Detroit

Skubal (10-7) faced 24 hitters. He has now beaten Cincinnati twice in seven days. The AP recap said he allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings in a 3-2 win on September 8. Since the Dodgers acquired him from Detroit on August 2, he is 3-2 with a 2.52 ERA in eight starts. Monday was the cleanest of those eight. Four groundouts. Four flyouts. Nine punchouts. Great American Ball Park did not get a run off him.

Alex Vesia threw a scoreless eighth, one strikeout, 11 pitches. Evan Phillips finished the ninth and gave up the run that kept the shutout off the page. Elly De La Cruz hit a 457-foot homer to center, his 27th, the longest homer by a Cincinnati player this season and the longest this year at Great American Ball Park, the AP recap said. 4-1. It was a missile. It was also the ninth inning of a game Skubal had already decided.

De La Cruz went 1-for-4. Sal Stewart went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Eugenio Suárez singled. The Reds had four hits and three left on. Los Angeles had three hits, four walks, and four left on. The club that hit fewer times scored more. That is what two homers and a shutdown start look like when you write them down.

Yamamoto on Tuesday, and a West race that still has a number

The AP recap said Los Angeles sends Yoshinobu Yamamoto (13-8, 2.62) out on Tuesday. Rhett Lowder (6-10, 5.81) goes for Cincinnati. A 4-1 on a Monday in September is how a 91-win club spends a night it already knew was coming. The berth is the headline. Skubal's seven innings are the reason the headline did not need 14 runs.

Cincinnati got the longest homer in its own park this year and still lost by three. Lodolo lasted seven and still took the loss. That is a well-pitched 4-1 from both sides until you remember only one of them allowed a run before the ninth. Skubal did not. The Dodgers are in. The West title is three magic-number ticks away. Those are different trophies. Monday claimed one of them.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put Skubal at 30 pitching fantasy points, first on the Monday board. Tucker had 11 hitting FP. Teoscar Hernández had 10. Los Angeles finished with 10 team FP. Cincinnati finished at minus-3. A 4-1 can sit seventh on a team table when another club scores eight. The pitcher board does not care.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

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*Sources: ESPN recap and box score, MLB.com Gameday wrap, MLB.com schedule, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*