Tarik Skubal had the Reds stuck in neutral again Monday night, and Cincinnati’s offense never found a way to turn the game around in a 4-1 loss to the Dodgers at Great American Ball Park.
The matchup carried a familiar feel. Cincinnati had just avoided a sweep with Sunday’s win over the Milwaukee Brewers, only to run into the same problem it faced last week against Los Angeles. That series out west ended with the Reds getting swept, and Monday’s opener was another rematch between Nick Lodolo and Skubal, the Dodgers’ in-season acquisition.
Lodolo was sharper than he had been in his first meeting with the Dodgers. Last week, he lasted 5.2 innings and gave up three runs.
This time, he worked seven innings for the first time this season, but the extra length did not come with better results. He allowed four runs, and by the time the seventh inning ended, the Reds broadcast showed a visibly frustrated Lodolo in the dugout after the Dodgers pushed across their fourth run.
It was a long night for Cincinnati, and Lodolo did what he could to keep it within reach. But the run support never showed up, and the Reds’ lineup spent most of the game looking overmatched.
Skubal, meanwhile, did exactly what the Dodgers hoped he would do. After his last start against Cincinnati became his longest outing as a Dodger, he came back and nearly matched that effort. He finished seven innings, gave up no runs and struck out nine.
The Reds finally got to him only after he was out of the game. Elly De La Cruz provided the lone spark, launching what looked like a moonshot for his 27th home run of the season. For a team that has spent all year fighting the same offensive issues, it was just a brief flash.
The bigger picture is hard to ignore. The season is already over from a postseason standpoint, and the Reds are left with a small number of games to collect whatever wins they can. The article’s blunt assessment of the roster’s future was just as stark: if massive change doesn’t happen going into the 2027 season, is there any reason to care?
Baseball does hand every club plenty of tomorrows. Right now, though, the Reds are running low on them.
Cincinnati will get another shot at Los Angeles on Tuesday, when the teams meet on Roberto Clemente Day. Rhett Lowder is scheduled to start for the Reds against 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
In Other News...
Terry Francona Just Raised The Stakes For The Reds Front Office
With one year left on his contract, Terry Francona is already sounding like a manager who intends to see this through. After a disappointing season that has left Cincinnati sitting at the bottom of the National League Central, Francona has stressed his commitment to helping the Reds get back on track, while also expressing confidence that the front office can put better pieces in place around him.
That belief matters because the seasons shortcomings have been hard to miss, from a lackluster offense to a quiet trade deadline that offered little relief. Nick Krall has also indicated the front office and coaching staff are expected to stay largely intact for 2027, which puts the pressure on Cincinnati to show real progress before then and gives Franconas public support a little more weight than it might otherwise carry. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers And Rays Just Exposed The Reds Biggest Front Office Problem
The Reds keep insisting on continuity in the front office, even as the rest of the NL Central keeps making the case for a different kind of ambition. Milwaukee and Tampa Bay have again shown how far efficient player development, sharp trading and a clear roster plan can carry a club, while Cincinnati remains stuck trying to explain why its resources have not translated into the same kind of sustained success. With Sal Stewart, Chase Burns and Elly De La Cruz in the picture, the talent base is there, but the bigger question is whether the organization is getting enough from the people making the calls.
For a team that has spent years talking about building the right way, the comparison only gets tougher when the Brewers and Rays keep turning smaller margins into playoff spots. The Reds are expected to keep the same decision-makers in place, which means the pressure now shifts to how they use payroll, how they manage the roster and whether they can avoid wasting the next wave of talent. The uneasy part for Cincinnati is that the answer to those questions may not be as simple as adding another bat or pitcher. [Read more 🡒]
Francona Sends Reds Fans A Clear Message After Offensive Letdown
A season that ended with the Reds short of the playoffs could have opened the door to a round of finger-pointing, but the message coming from the top has been one of continuity instead. President of baseball operations Nick Krall is expected to keep the front office and coaching structure intact, with Krall, general manager Brad Meador and manager Terry Francona all projected to stay in place through 2027.
Francona has leaned into that stability, making clear he values the alignment and support he has gotten from Krall and Meador even after the offense sputtered. Rather than framing the year as a hunt for blame, he has pointed toward a shared effort to fix the lineup and move forward together, which is the kind of note Reds fans were probably hoping to hear after an empty finish. [Read more 🡒]