The Los Angeles Dodgers open a four-game set at Great American Ball Park on Monday night behind the same left-hander who held the Cincinnati Reds to two runs six days ago. Tarik Skubal draws the assignment again, and the market has responded. Los Angeles is a -225 road favorite, the run line sits at -1.5 (-130), and the total has been trimmed to 8. Nick Lodolo counters. Our lean is with the visitors, but the question is which number pays for that opinion.
Last Updated: Monday, September 14, 2026
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Cincinnati Reds — Time & How to Watch
| Where | Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, Ohio |
| When | Monday, September 14, 2026 – 6:40 p.m. ET |
| TV | REDS.TV (Cincinnati), SportsNet LA (Los Angeles) |
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Cincinnati Reds Betting Preview
Pitching sets the terms, and the gap is wide. Skubal is 9-7 with a 2.84 ERA across 139 2/3 innings, with 164 strikeouts, a 0.974 WHIP and just 1.5 walks per nine. In seven starts since joining Los Angeles he is 2-2 with a 2.93 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 43 innings. His last outing came against this same Cincinnati club on September 8. He went 7 1/3 innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits, with two walks and five strikeouts on 94 pitches. That was his longest start in a Dodgers uniform, and he works on six days of rest.
Lodolo arrives from a very different place. The left-hander is 3-4 with a 5.12 ERA over 18 starts, with 75 strikeouts and a 1.528 WHIP in 89 2/3 innings. That is barely five innings per outing. Walks are the recurring issue at 3.8 per nine, and they surfaced again last week. In the September 8 meeting he lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits with three walks on 97 pitches. Both listed probable starters are left-handed.
The standings frame the rest. Los Angeles is 90-59 and leads the National League West, though it dropped two straight at Miami before flying east, as our recent Dodgers picks coverage noted. Cincinnati is 70-79 and sits fifth in the National League Central. The Reds were swept in Los Angeles from September 7-9, losing 6-3, 3-2 and 14-1. They then lost 20-0 and 13-9 at Milwaukee before salvaging Sunday with a 4-3 win.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Cincinnati Reds Odds
| Run Line | Moneyline | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dodgers | -1.5 (-130) | -225 | U 8 (-110) |
| Reds | +1.5 (+110) | +185 | O 8 (-110) |
Odds accurate as of Monday, September 14, 2026 via TheSpread.com. Odds change, get the latest MLB Odds – Futures – Props
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Cincinnati Reds — Who Is the Public Betting?
| Dodgers | 87% | 13% | Reds |
See the latest MLB Public Betting Splits and make smarter wagers!
Dodgers vs. Reds Prediction — Does the Rematch Price Still Offer Value?
Start with the price, because that is where this game gets decided. Los Angeles at -225 implies a break-even rate near 69 percent. That is a steep toll on a side the public has already crowded, and the number has drifted that way. The Dodgers opened at -213 and now sit at -225, with 96 percent of moneyline tickets on them. When a line moves with the crowd, the move carries little information and most of the value at the open is gone.
The 1.5-run market tells a more useful story. The same read — Skubal efficient, Lodolo short, a Cincinnati bullpen that worked through two blowouts in four days — is available at a materially better price. Road favorites are also the stronger structural profile for a 1.5-run number, because the visitors always bat in the ninth and get one more chance to extend a lead. Cincinnati scored one, two and three runs in its three most recent games against this staff, and a lineup that quiet gives the favorite room to pull away late.
However, there is a real argument against. The run line has not moved a cent since it opened, even with 87 percent of run-line tickets on Los Angeles. A frozen number under that much one-way action often hints that sharper money sits opposite. Cincinnati won a one-run game on Sunday, and roughly a quarter of major league games are decided by a single run. This is a lean, and it can be wrong.
The Pick: Dodgers Run Line -1.5 (-130)
Dodgers vs. Reds Prediction — Can Cincinnati’s Bats Wake Up in Time?
The total is the other place the market has spoken. It opened at 8.5 with the under priced at -120, and it has been bought down to a flat 8 at -110 on both sides. That is a genuine move through a meaningful half-run, and it arrived without the lopsided ticket count that explains the moneyline drift. Skubal’s 0.974 WHIP means very little traffic on the bases. Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s bats have gone quiet, managing one run in the September 9 finale and none at Milwaukee on Friday, a stretch our latest Reds picks coverage tracked.
In contrast, the park and the Cincinnati half of the pitching push back. Great American Ball Park’s short dimensions have long made it a friendly place to score, and Lodolo’s 1.528 WHIP invites traffic against a lineup that scored 23 runs on the Reds across three games last week. Still, the Reds have to supply their share of an eight-run number, and they have not reached four in a game against Los Angeles since this matchup began.
The Pick: Under 8 (-110)
Final Thoughts and Bonus Angle
Both positions rest on the same load-bearing fact, and it is worth saying so plainly rather than manufacturing a second angle for variety. Skubal against this lineup, six days after he held it to two runs over 7 1/3 innings, is the engine behind the side and the total alike. If he is efficient and works into the seventh, both tickets stay live together. If he is short, both are in trouble together. That correlation is the honest risk in pairing them.
No bonus play is added. First-five-inning, alternate-line and prop markets are not carried in the odds above, and quoting an unverified price would not serve the reader. The swing moments are easy to name instead. Watch whether Lodolo’s command holds through the first turn of the order, and watch how early Cincinnati reaches for its bullpen after a weekend in Milwaukee.
Picks recap for Dodgers at Reds on Monday, September 14: Dodgers Run Line -1.5 (-130) and Under 8 (-110).
MLB Dodgers vs. Reds FAQ: Monday September 14, 2026
What time does the Dodgers vs. Reds game start?
First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. ET on Monday, September 14, 2026, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. This is the opener of a four-game series between the two clubs, with the remaining three games scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the same venue.
What channel is the Dodgers vs. Reds game on?
The game airs on REDS.TV in the Cincinnati market and on SportsNet LA in the Los Angeles market. Major League Baseball produces and distributes all local Reds broadcasts in 2026 through REDS.TV, which reaches viewers through regional cable and satellite providers and by digital subscription.
Who is pitching for the Reds tonight?
Nick Lodolo starts for Cincinnati. The left-hander is 3-4 with a 5.12 ERA and 75 strikeouts over 18 starts and 89 2/3 innings this season. He last faced Los Angeles on September 8, when he allowed three earned runs across 4 2/3 innings. Tarik Skubal starts for the Dodgers.
Who won the last meeting between the Dodgers and Reds?
Los Angeles won 14-1 on September 9, 2026, at Dodger Stadium to complete a three-game sweep. Cincinnati also lost the first two games of that series, 6-3 on September 7 and 3-2 on September 8. The finale extended the Dodgers’ winning streak to seven games.
Where are the Dodgers and Reds playing today?
They play at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Reds’ home ballpark. Cincinnati hosts all four games of this series. The park is known for its short outfield dimensions and has long been one of the more run-friendly environments in Major League Baseball.