Dodgers have home advantage, but the Reds pose challenges

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he would be scoreboard watching on Sunday afternoon.

- By Jack Harris

THE REDS' Hunter Greene is one of the hardest-throwing starters in MLB.

(JEFF DEAN Associated Press)

But he insisted he didn’t care how things played out.

His team, of course, had already been locked in as the National League’s No. 3 seed, set to host a best-of three wild card series starting Tuesday.

What wasn't clear until the end of play on Sunday, however, was whether the Dodgers would be facing the Cincinnati Reds or New York Mets to open the postseason.

“I honestly don’t really care, I really don’t,” Roberts said. “I think the way we're playing right now, it doesn’t matter who we play.”

In a photo finish for the NL final wildcard berth, all the Reds needed was a win against the Milwaukee Brewers, or a Mets loss. The Mets needed a win and a Cincinnati defeat.

Turned out, the Reds got a Mets loss as the Marlins knocked off the Mets, 4-0, in Miami after Cincinnati dropped its finale to the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2.

Thus, it will be the Reds coming to Chavez Ravine this week.

Here are eight things to know about the Reds ahead of Game 1 at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday at 6p.m. (ESPN):

Tito magic

On Sept. 5, the Reds appeared left for dead. They were a game under .500. They were trailing the Mets by six games for the final NL wildcard spot. They had two other teams to catapult inthe standings.

But then, they reeled off 13 wins in their next 21 games, including an 8-3 run to end the year. They clinched a playoff spot on the final day of the season, their first in a full campaign since 2013.

And they did it, first and foremost, by following the lead of their veteran manager.

At 66 years old, two-time World Series champion and three-time manager of the year Terry Francona came out of what appeared to be his managerial retirement to take another crack at contention with upstart Cincinnati.