Reds vs Dodgers Prediction for September 8: Six in a Row for LA?

The Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers meet again Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, and the market has made this one of the most lopsided games on the MLB board. Los Angeles is priced at -345 after taking the opener 6-3. Tarik Skubal gets the ball against Nick Lodolo, a matchup that looks one-sided on paper and is priced accordingly. Our headline lean, though, is not on the side almost everyone is buying. It starts with the run total. Last Updated: Tuesday, September 8, 2026 Cincinnati Reds vs. Los Angeles Dodgers — Time & How to Watch Where Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California When Tuesday, September 8 – 10:10 p.m. ET TV SportsNet LA Cincinnati Reds vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Betting Preview The pitching matchup drives everything here. Skubal carries a 2.86 ERA and a 0.982 WHIP into his seventh start since the Dodgers acquired him at the deadline. He has 159 strikeouts against just 22 walks in 132 1/3 innings, or 10.8 strikeouts per nine. His last five outings have been steady rather than spectacular. He allowed two earned runs over 5 2/3 innings against St. Louis on September 3 and one over six innings against Detroit on August 28. Manager Dave Roberts said 'we haven't seen the best of him,' and Skubal works on four days' rest for the first time as a Dodger. Lodolo is the opposite profile. The left-hander is 3-3 with a 5.08 ERA and a 1.518 WHIP, and his 35 walks in 85 innings reflect a season interrupted twice by finger blisters. His strikeout rate has fallen to 7.3 per nine. Still, the recent trend is not all bad. Lodolo's last outing was his best in a month, six innings and two earned runs against San Diego on September 1. Before that he allowed four earned runs in four innings at San Francisco and six in 3 1/3 at Arizona. The standings explain the price. Los Angeles is 87-57 and leads the National League West by 10.5 games. Cincinnati is 69-75, fifth in the NL Central and outside the wild card picture. Yet the Reds have played well lately, winning three straight series entering this trip. On Monday they held the Dodgers to three hits and still lost, undone by an error that scored two runs and a Teoscar Hernandez three-run homer. Shohei Ohtani returned to the Los Angeles lineup that night. Cincinnati Reds vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Odds Run Line Moneyline Total Reds +2.5 (-130) +270 U 8.5 (-125) Dodgers -2.5 (+110) -345 O 8.5 (+105) Odds accurate as of Tuesday, September 8, 2026 via TheSpread.com. Odds change, get the latest MLB Odds – Futures – Props Cincinnati Reds vs. Los Angeles Dodgers — Who Is the Public Betting? Reds 7% 93% Dodgers See the latest MLB Public Betting Splits and make smarter wagers! Reds vs. Dodgers Prediction — Will Under Cash for Bettors? Start with the arm that shapes the game. Skubal's command profile is the rare kind that travels regardless of opponent. Twenty-two walks across 132 1/3 innings means very little free traffic, and 10.8 strikeouts per nine means few balls in play when he needs an out. Against a Cincinnati lineup that scored three runs on Monday, that combination points toward a quiet first six innings. Dodger Stadium reinforces the idea. The venue has fallen off the list of run-amplifying parks in recent seasons, even as it still plays well for home runs. The market agrees, quietly. The total opened at 8.5 with the under priced at -120 and has since been bid to -125, while the number itself held firm. That is a small move, but it runs in one direction. Meanwhile the moneyline drifted from -330 to -345 on Los Angeles. The money is on the favorite and on fewer runs, not on a shootout. For more on how Monday set this series up, see our Reds vs. Dodgers prediction for September 7. The case against is real, and it lives on the Cincinnati side of the mound. Lodolo's 1.518 WHIP and 3.7 walks per nine put runners on base, and a Dodgers lineup with Ohtani back is not the group to hand extra outs. He has allowed four or more earned runs in three of his last five starts, and Monday's game went over this number with nine combined runs. If Lodolo's command wavers early, the Dodgers can put up a four-spot before Skubal's side of the total is ever tested. The Pick: Under 8.5 (-125) Reds vs. Dodgers Prediction — Cincy Closer Than Price Says? The most interesting thing on this board is not the moneyline. It is what the run line did. The Reds opened at +1.5 (+105) and now sit at +2.5 (-130), a full run of adjustment rather than a juice tweak. That happened alongside 93% of run-line tickets landing on Los Angeles. When recreational money piles onto a favorite laying runs and the number widens to meet it, value gets pushed toward the cushioned side. A low-scoring projection also compresses margins. Structure helps too. Los Angeles is the home team, so it will not bat in the ninth if it leads. That removes an inning where big favorites often pad a margin. Cincinnati has also been competitive, losing Monday on one swing and one throwing error. The honest counter is that Lodolo is the weak link, and both of today's plays rest on the same low-scoring read. If Los Angeles gets to him early, a 7-1 night beats the cushion even in a low-total game. That shared risk deserves naming rather than dressing up. The Pick: Reds Run Line +2.5 (-130) Final Thoughts and Bonus Angle There is no third angle worth a separate position. The moneyline at -345 asks for roughly a 78% win rate, and Skubal is 1-2 in six Dodgers starts, which does not justify that price. The Reds at +270 is the same low-scoring read already expressed with better protection. Watch Lodolo's first turn through the order instead. His blister history has cost him command in stretches, and the walk rate is the tell. If he works ahead through the first nine hitters, this game likely stays in the range both plays need. If he falls behind early, Cincinnati goes to its bullpen in the fifth and the game opens up. The other swing point is the sixth, when Skubal's pitch count decides who protects a lead. Both picks lean the same direction: this game stays lower-scoring and tighter than a -345 favorite suggests. That is a lean, not a certainty. Under 8.5 (-125) Reds Run Line +2.5 (-130) MLB Reds vs. Dodgers FAQ: Tuesday September 8, 2026 What time does the Cincinnati Reds vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game start? First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET, which is 7:10 p.m. PT in Los Angeles. This is the middle game of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium running Monday through Wednesday. The two clubs meet again in Cincinnati the following week. What channel is the Cincinnati Reds vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game on? The game airs on SportsNet LA in the Los Angeles market and on Reds.TV in the Cincinnati market. Radio coverage in Los Angeles is on AM 570 in English and KTNQ 1020 AM in Spanish. All three games of the series share that arrangement. Who is pitching for the Cincinnati Reds tonight? Left-hander Nick Lodolo starts for Cincinnati. He is 3-3 with a 5.08 ERA, a 1.518 WHIP and 69 strikeouts in 85 innings this season. Los Angeles counters with left-hander Tarik Skubal, who is 8-7 with a 2.86 ERA and 159 strikeouts. Who won the last meeting between the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers? Los Angeles won the series opener 6-3 on Monday, September 7 at Dodger Stadium. Teoscar Hernandez hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning to break the game open. Emmet Sheehan struck out 10 for the Dodgers, while Elly De La Cruz and Eugenio Suarez homered for Cincinnati. Where are the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers playing today? The game is at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. Cincinnati is the visiting team for this three-game set, and Tuesday is the middle contest. The Reds then return home to host the Dodgers the following week.