LOS ANGELES — Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out a postseason-high nine while pitching into the seventh inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers broke it open with a four-run sixth to beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-4 on Wednesday night and advance to the National League Division Series.
The defending World Series champion Dodgers advanced to their 20th NLDS appearance — 13th in a row — in franchise history and will face the Phillies starting Saturday in Philadelphia. The teams last met in the postseason in 2009, when the Phillies beat the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series for the second straight year.
“I know we can win the whole thing,” Betts said. “We’ve got to continue to pitch, timely hitting and play defense, and everything should be OK.”
After hitting a franchise playoff-tying five home runs in a 10-5 win in the NL Wild Card Series opener Tuesday, the Dodgers eliminated the Reds by playing small ball and rapping out 13 hits — two fewer than in Game 1. Mookie Betts went 4 for 5 with three doubles, tying Jim Gilliam in Game 4 of the 1953 World Series for most doubles in a single postseason game in team history.
“I think what we’re seeing is winning pitches, using the whole field, fighting and not trying to just slug,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I think we’re taking team at-bats.”
