The Dodgers finally get the Reds on Monday, and they get them in a hurry. After going through their first 143 games without facing Cincinnati, the Dodgers open a seven-game stretch against the Reds over the next 11 days, starting with a three-game series at Dodger Stadium.
That is why the matchup is drawing attention now. Emmet Sheehan will be called up to fill in on Monday with bulk innings, giving the Dodgers a needed arm at the start of the series, while Chase Burns is scheduled to pitch for the Reds. Monday is Labor Day, and the game will start an hour earlier than usual.
The schedule makes this feel less like a single series than a compressed run of the same opponent. After the three games in Los Angeles, the Dodgers will play four more in Cincinnati next week at Great American Ball Park, putting the two clubs in the same lane twice in quick succession. For a team that had not seen the Reds at all through 143 games, the sudden repeat matchup changes the rhythm of the week.
The one piece that is still unsettled is how Sheehan will be used. He is expected to handle bulk innings, but it remains to be seen whether he will start the game or come in after an opener. That distinction matters because it shapes the first game of the stretch, even if the Dodgers already know they need him on Monday. The next confirmed step is the opener at Dodger Stadium, and then the series shifts to Cincinnati with four more games waiting next week.
