MLB Baseball
2026-09-15 - Los Angeles Dodgers at Cincinnati Reds
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : Major League Baseball
Tuesday 15th September 2026 - Scheduled 6:40pm EST
11:40pm (British Time)
Preview
The two time defending Champions are going to be playing in the post-season once again and the Los Angeles Dodgers (91-59) are still taking aim at finishing with the best record in the National League. They looked to have pulled away from the Atlanta Braves for a Bye into the Divisional Round of the Playoff, but the Dodgers are still chasing the Milwaukee Brewers for the top spot.
The real hard work begins from here as the regular season winds down and the Playoffs start, but the Cincinnati Reds (70-80) have now officially been eliminated. It has been a disappointing end to the season for the Reds who are the first team officially out of the post-season picture from the National League Central and they will be working out how they are going to turn things around in 2027.
It does mean the players on the roster can play with some freedom, although others have something to prove, including the starting pitcher in the second game of this series.
Rhett Lowder has a 6-10 record and 5.81 ERA in twenty-six appearances this season and twenty-three of those have been in starts. He made just six starts in his rookie season before missing the entirety of 2025, but Lowder has not really reached the level he had shown in his limited sample of games from the rookie season.
September has been a tough month for Rhett Lowder who has allowed thirteen earned runs in a little over 7 Innings thrown, including being roughed up by the Los Angeles Dodgers in his last start. That lasted into the 4th Inning before Rhett Lowder was withdrawn after allowing seven runs and the Cincinnati Reds will need more from him.
The Dodgers will counter by handing the ball to Yoshinobu Yamamoto who has a 13-8 record and 2.62 ERA from the twenty-six starts made in 2026. His importance in the starting rotation has grown even more as injuries have racked up for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Yamamoto will want to end his regular season with positive momentum.
He began this month by allowing four runs to the St Louis Cardinals in 7 Innings thrown, although did not factor into the decision, but Yoshinobu Yamamoto has bounced back when containing the Cincinnati Reds to a single run in 7 Innings thrown last time out.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto has a 4-2 record and a 2.20 ERA in his last nine starts, which is a run that began by throwing a Complete Game against the New York Yankees.
In his short career in the Major League, Yoshinobu Yamamoto has a 2-1 record and 2.84 ERA from three starts against the Cincinnati Reds.
Prediction
Like many North American sports, being in good health is so very important when the Playoffs roll around and the Los Angeles Dodgers may have one or two concerns to resolve.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is not one of those and the starting pitcher can lay another strong foundation against the Cincinnati Reds.
The Dodgers will certainly feel confident they can get after Rhett Lowder for the second time this month and that may end up leading to another relatively comfortable win for the road team.
The Pick :
Cincinnati Reds 1-6 Los Angeles Dodgers
