The Reds had the bases loaded in the bottom of the first, but they could only come away with one run. They squandered other chances early in the game to take the lead, before the Dodgers ultimately got the big hits in the mid-to-late innings to put the game out of reach.

Shohei Ohtani extended his hitting streak to nine games with a two-run double in the fifth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cincinnati Reds 5-2.

When the Reds and Angels met in Anaheim in August 2023, Elly De La Cruz poked Shohei Ohtani, as if to see if he was real.

Chase Burns is the 14th MLB pitcher with at least 45 strikeouts through 6 career starts since 1901, joining: Paul Skenes Freddy Peralta Masahiro Tanaka Hyun-Jin Ryu Stephen Strasburg Felix Hernandez Mark Prior Kerry Wood Hideo Nomo Al Leiter Jose DeLeon Gary Nolan Herb Score

All that's between the Reds and the 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline on Thursday are three key games against the superstar-laden Dodgers. But as they've often stressed as a club seeking a playoff berth, there was no looking ahead.

During batting practices over the years, Noelvi Marte would often go out to the outfield and shag fly balls. He thought that he did a pretty good job at that, so he always believed that he could play the outfield if he was asked.

The Reds have been searching for long-term consistency since the Big Red Machine days and the early 2010s. This team has the talent to set the franchise up for sustained success, but that's also going to require beating the best teams, like the Dodgers.