Cincinnati Reds (6) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (1)
It would have been a heck of a story if the Reds had taken down the Dodgers in the Wild Card round last year, but they were outclassed offensively. They gave up 18 runs in two games, scoring only two of their own.
As alluded to earlier, the assumption here is that the Reds are going to pack more of a punch at the plate. Beyond rebounds by Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain, that can happen with the power they expect from Eugenio Suárez and a breakout by Sal Stewart, who was terrific (1.065 OPS) in spring training.
Yet here’s where the “Reds as Dodgers killers” fantasy dies: This is where their rotation could finally meet its match.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto would be the best pitcher on either team in this series, and you might take a healthy Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and/or Shohei Ohtani over any of the Reds’ guys in their own right.
There’s also a difference between an offense that could beat expectations and an offense for which expectations are through the roof. The Reds have the former. The Dodgers have the latter.