The Los Angeles Dodgers shut down the Cincinnati Reds 4-1 on Monday, September 14, 2026, at Great American Ball Park, as Tarik Skubal delivered a masterclass outing — seven innings, nine strikeouts, zero earned runs — to hand Nick Lodolo and the Reds a lopsided pitching mismatch. Home runs from Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández provided all the offense Los Angeles needed. Elly De La Cruz accounted for Cincinnati's only run with a solo shot, but the Reds' lineup couldn't find anything else against a dominant Skubal, making this a tough Monday night at the corner of Second and Pete Rose Way.
Tarik Skubal Shuts Down Reds Offense Over Seven Innings
There's dominant, and then there's what Skubal did to Cincinnati on Monday night. The Dodgers' left-hander worked seven innings, allowed just three hits and one walk, and punched out nine Reds hitters. He didn't allow a single earned run. The Reds simply had no answer for him. Three hits and one walk over seven frames is the kind of line that wins Cy Young votes, and Cincinnati was on the wrong end of it. When Skubal exited after seven, Alex Vesia and Evan Phillips finished the job without incident — Phillips did surrender one earned run in the ninth, but by then the damage was long done.
Dodgers Power Up with Tucker and Hernández Home Runs
Los Angeles did its scoring damage through the long ball. Kyle Tucker went deep in his two at-bats, driving in one run on his homer. Teoscar Hernández was even more productive, connecting for a home run that drove in two runs, going 1-for-3 on the night. Those two swings accounted for three of the Dodgers' four runs, and against a pitcher like Lodolo who was already laboring with command issues, they proved to be more than enough.
Nick Lodolo Takes the Loss Despite Going Seven Innings
Lodolo's night on paper — seven innings pitched — looks serviceable until you dig into the details. He allowed four earned runs on three hits, but the four walks he issued kept him in constant trouble and ultimately cost him. Lodolo struck out four, showing he had stuff to work with, but the free passes gave Los Angeles traffic to work with all night. He takes the loss, and it's a frustrating one given the length of his outing. Luis Mey and Tony Santillan each threw a clean inning in relief — Mey with a strikeout, Santillan with one strikeout despite issuing a pair of walks — but the Reds' bullpen was pitching in a hole the offense couldn't dig them out of.
Elly De La Cruz Provides Cincinnati's Lone Highlight
In a night short on bright spots for the home side, Elly De La Cruz delivered the one moment Great American Ball Park could cheer. De La Cruz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and one RBI — the Reds' only run of the game. It was a reminder of the electric upside De La Cruz brings to this lineup, but one swing wasn't going to be enough to overcome Skubal's dominance or the Dodgers' power display.
Turning Point: Hernández's Two-Run Homer Puts the Game Away
With Lodolo fighting his command all night, the Reds needed to limit the damage. They couldn't. Teoscar Hernández's two-run home run was the decisive blow — the moment that turned a close game into an uphill battle Cincinnati never recovered from. Once the Dodgers had a multi-run cushion and Skubal still dealing on the mound, the path back for the Reds became nearly impossible.
What's Next for the Cincinnati Reds
The Reds will look to bounce back in the continuation of this series against the Dodgers at Great American Ball Park. Cincinnati needs its offense to show up in a way it couldn't against Skubal, and Lodolo will need to clean up the walk issues that defined his Monday night start if the rotation is going to give this team a chance to compete in this series.
