LOS ANGELES — This was a winnable series for the Cincinnati Reds.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ bullpen was that shaky. The Reds’ rotation has that much promise on paper. The Reds’ lineup created enough opportunities. But issues that have been highlighted all season caught up to the Reds again in a few different ways. The Dodgers beat the Reds, 8-4, in Game 2 on Wednesday and ended Cincinnati’s season.

The Reds’ long-term plan has been built around the idea that they’d get to a playoff series against a blue blood team and the Reds’ starting pitching will have the talent to carry them. But Hunter Greene had a bad Game 1, Nick Lodolo had to pitch out of the bullpen because he wasn’t available to start and Andrew Abbott never got to take the ball. The Reds path to that point started with all of

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