Skubal Shuts Down Cincinnati as LAD Homers Do the Work
Tarik Skubal threw 7.0 innings of three-hit, zero-run ball with 9 strikeouts, and the Dodgers needed every bit of it — because their offense did exactly enough and nothing more. Los Angeles beat Cincinnati 4-1 on September 14, 2026, with three home runs carrying the scoring load from start to finish.
The game's shape was set early. Kyle Tucker led off the scoring in the second inning, homering to right 398 feet to put Los Angeles up 1-0. That was just the appetizer. In the fourth, Teoscar Hernandez went deep to right center 383 feet, and Tucker — who had reached base again — scored on the play, pushing the lead to 3-0. That two-run shot was the decisive blow of the night: Cincinnati's home win probability swung from 28% to 13% on a single swing, a 15-point collapse that effectively ended the Reds' realistic path back into the game.
The story of the night was the pitching mismatch. Skubal was simply untouchable — 7.0 innings, 3 hits, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts. On the other side, Nick Lodolo worked the same 7.0 innings but surrendered 4 earned runs on 4 walks and managed only 4 strikeouts. The walk disparity looks like the core of the problem for Cincinnati: Lodolo gave the Dodgers extra opportunities, and Los Angeles punished him for it. Enrique Hernandez added an insurance run in the seventh with a single to center that scored Teoscar Hernandez, making it 4-0 and rendering the final innings academic. Alex Vesia closed things out with a clean eighth — 1.0 inning, no hits, no runs, one strikeout.
Cincinnati's lone moment of defiance came in the ninth. Elly De La Cruz launched a 457-foot home run to center — the longest ball hit by anyone on either side all night — to make it 4-1. It was a reminder of what De La Cruz can do when he connects, but it was cosmetic damage against a Dodgers team that had already locked the door. Luis Mey matched Vesia with a scoreless inning of relief for the Reds, but the game was long decided. Teoscar Hernandez finished 1-for-3 with a home run, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Tucker went 1-for-2 with a homer, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored. The Dodgers needed only three hits to score four runs — which, given the quality of Skubal's outing, appears to have been more than enough.