Reds watch hope fade as season ends in Wild Card sweep

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chasing their first playoff victory since 2012, the Cincinnati Reds instead watched the season slip away Wednesday night.

The Reds were eliminated from the National League Wild Card round with an 8-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2. Cincinnati is 0-5 in the playoffs over the past 13 seasons.

Rookie Sal Stewart raised optimism with a two-run single in the first inning and three RBIs in the game, but his throwing error at first base in the sixth opened the door for four Los Angeles runs.

That the Dodgers’ big inning came after the Reds failed to score in their half of the sixth, despite loading the bases with no outs, only heightened the sting.

“It’s tough,” Stewart said. “I didn’t make some plays out there that cost the team and it’s a tough pill to swallow. I guess I’ll regroup in a few days, a few weeks, and get back to work.”

There remains plenty to savor for Cincinnati like eight victories over the final 11 games of the regular season to secure the final playoff spot in the NL. And there is a roster with plenty of young talent that suggests the best is yet to come.

For now, though, the Reds are left to sift through the rubble of their Game 2 defeat.

“There were a lot of highs and lows this year and a lot to hang our hats on,” outfielder TJ Friedl said. “Getting a taste of that (playoff-clinching) champagne, that’s something we as a group want to remember that feeling.”

The Reds got to Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto early when Spencer Steer was hit by a pitch as the second batter of the game and Austin Hays reached base when Los Angeles right fielder Teoscar Hernandez dropped his fly ball along the right-field line.

Stewart, who made his major league debut Sept. 1 and was starting in his first playoff game, singled past Freddie Freeman at first base to give Cincinnati a 2-0 lead.

The Dodgers chipped away to take a 3-2 lead in the fourth, with the Reds poised to regain the advantage in the sixth against Yamamoto after Friedl, Spencer Steer and Gavin Lux all opened the inning with singles to load the bases.

But the Reds failed to score when Hays grounded into a force out at home, while Stewart and Elly De La Cruz struck out. Stewart’s costly throwing error followed a half inning later.

“Learning what postseason baseball feels like, understanding what it takes to get to the postseason and what it takes to win in the postseason, I think that is all valuable experience we can use going forward,” Steer said. “Hopefully, that’s the standard for this organization going forward is the postseason.”

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