TITLE: Yamamoto Dazzles, Dodgers Bury Reds 14-1 to Complete Series Sweep
Yamamoto Dazzles, Dodgers Bury Reds 14-1 to Complete Series Sweep
Three games into their season series with the Reds, the Dodgers have made their intentions clear: this is not going to be a competitive rivalry in 2026. Los Angeles put together its most complete performance yet on Thursday, blitzing Cincinnati 14-1 behind a dominant outing from Yoshinobu Yamamoto and a lineup that never let the Reds' pitching staff catch its breath.
This one was over early. The Dodgers hung a crooked number and kept adding to it, turning what looked on paper like a matchup into a rout. For a Cincinnati club that has now dropped three straight to Los Angeles by a combined score that isn't close, Thursday was a reminder of just how wide the gap is between these two teams right now.
Yamamoto was the story before the Dodgers even got their bats going. He worked through the Reds lineup with the kind of efficiency that makes life miserable for opposing hitters, racking up 62.0 fantasy points in a start that served as the backbone of the win. Whatever Cincinnati was hoping to find against him, it never arrived. The right-hander controlled the game from the opening frame and never let the Reds believe they had a path back into it.
Behind him, the offense did the rest. Enrique Hernández continued a scorching stretch against Cincinnati, putting up 50.5 fantasy points at the plate. Mookie Betts added 47.0 fantasy points of his own, doing what Betts does against this particular opponent — making contact look easy and finding ways to get on base and drive in runs. Kyle Tucker chipped in 42.0 fantasy points, giving the Dodgers three middle-of-the-order threats who combined to make Cincinnati's pitching staff look overmatched all afternoon.
Max Muncy added 29.0 fantasy points, and Teoscar Hernández chipped in 20.0 more, giving Los Angeles production from top to bottom. Even Will Smith got in on it behind the plate with 18.0 fantasy points, while Blake Treinen closed things out cleanly, adding 9.0 fantasy points in relief to put a bow on the rout.
For the Reds, there wasn't much to celebrate, but Elly De La Cruz at least gave the home crowd's opposition something to talk about. De La Cruz posted 25.5 fantasy points, easily the high mark for Cincinnati and a sign that even in a lopsided loss, his talent doesn't disappear. Sal Stewart added 10.0 fantasy points, and Tyler Stephenson chipped in 5.0, but beyond that the Reds' lineup had almost nothing to offer. Will Banfield, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Jose Trevino and JJ Bleday all finished in single digits, and the Cincinnati pitching staff had no answer for the barrage coming from the other dugout.
This result fits a pattern. The Dodgers have now beaten the Reds 14-1, 3-2 and 6-3 in their recent stretch of games, an absolute stranglehold on this early-season matchup. Los Angeles rolls in with the look of a team peaking at the right time, riding a five-game winning streak that included two wins over Washington before this domination of Cincinnati. The lineup is clicking, the rotation is delivering length and results, and there's no sign of the Dodgers slowing down.
Cincinnati, meanwhile, has some work to do. Against the Dodgers specifically, something has to change. Three losses by a combined margin that includes Thursday's 13-run beatdown is the kind of stretch that gets dissected in the clubhouse. De La Cruz remains a bright spot and a foundation to build around, but the pitching staff needs to find a way to slow down a Los Angeles offense that has feasted on it all series long.
It's early in the 2026 season, but performances like this one carry weight beyond the box score. The Dodgers look like the team to beat, and days like Thursday — with Yamamoto dealing and the whole lineup contributing — are exactly why. For fantasy managers building lineups on JockBroker, Yamamoto's outing was the kind of dominant, points-piling performance you build a roster around, and the rest of that Dodgers lineup wasn't far behind.
