Yamamoto strikes out 10 as the Dodgers rout the Reds 14-1 for 7th straight win

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out 10 while scattering three hits over seven innings, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy and Kiké Hernández each hit two-run homers, and the Los Angeles Dodgers routed the Cincinnati Reds 14-1 on Wednesday night for their season-high seventh consecutive win.

The Dodgers' sweep helped them reduce their magic number to six for clinching their 13th NL West title in 14 years without injured Shohei Ohtani or Freddie Freeman in the lineup.

They broke out for six runs in the fourth and had all nine starters reach base in their 11th straight win at home over the Reds. It was the Dodgers' most runs in an inning since June 27 when they had nine in Yamamoto's win over San Diego.

Yamamoto (13-8) retired 17 of his first 20 batters. His 13 wins are a career high, while his strikeouts tied a season best.

Betts had his fifth multi-hit game in the first eight games of September. The shortstop went 3 for 5 with two RBIs, three runs scored and a walk in raising his average to .249.

Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz homered in a career-high fifth consecutive game, sending the first pitch from Yamamoto 403 feet to center in the fourth. He also hit a first-pitch homer off Tarik Skubal on Tuesday.

NL Rookie of the Year contender Sal Stewart singled twice off Yamamoto and JJ Bleday walked.

The Dodgers' 13 runs of support were the most for Yamamoto since July 19.

In the fourth, Alex Freeland had an RBI double, Hernández followed with a two-run double and scored on reliever Luis Mey’s wild pitch before Teoscar Hernández’s two-run single went off the glove of De La Cruz for a 9-1 lead.

Betts' two-run shot off Reds starter Rhett Lowder (6-10) extended the lead to 3-0 in his fifth multi-hit game in the first eight games of September.

Kyle Tucker went deep off Reds position player Jose Trevino in the eighth.

Reds: After an off-day Thursday, LHP Andrew Abbott (6-10, 4.43 ERA) starts Friday's series opener at Milwaukee against LHP Kyle Harrison (10-4, 3.66).

Dodgers: They had not announced a starter for Friday's series opener at Miami.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz hits a solo home run during fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz, left, heads to first for a solo home run as Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, center, watches along with catcher Will Smith during the fourth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts has seeds thrown at him after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Pope Leo XIV had the lower section of his right lung removed after doctors diagnosed him with the most common form of lung cancer. While lung cancer is a leading killer, survival rates can be high if it's caught early, as the pope’s tumor appears to have been. Here are some things to know.

The Vatican announced the pope’s diagnosis as lung adenocarcinoma, which is one of many forms of lung cancer.

There are two main groups, small cell and non-small cell lung cancers. The non-small cell kind make up the vast majority of the world’s cases and adenocarcinoma is its most common subtype. Even it comes in varieties that can grow faster or slower.

“While it’s still very dangerous, it has slightly higher cure rates than other types of lung cancer,” said Dr. John Heymach of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer. But as many as 1 in 5 lung cancers occur in people who have never smoked and it's not clear why, maybe in some cases just random chance, Heymach said.

Other risks include exposure to radon gas, asbestos, radiation, secondhand smoke and air pollution, according to the American Cancer Society.

Lung cancer symptoms don’t usually appear until the cancer is advanced, according to the cancer society. They can include a persistent cough, chest pain, a hoarse voice, shortness of breath, and recurrent pneumonia or bronchitis — symptoms important to get checked.

Sometimes, lung cancer can be found early when someone has an X-ray or other scan that shows a spot in a lung that needs further investigation. That’s called an incidental finding, leading doctors to investigate well before symptoms and possibly early enough that the cancer remains small and hasn't spread. In the pope’s case, a nodule in his lung was spotted during another exam.

In the U.S., yearly screening with a low-dose CT scan, a type of X-ray, is recommended for certain people at high risk because of heavy smoking.

Surgery is a mainstay when lung cancer is detected early, and increasingly is used even in more advanced stages. The pope had the lower section, or lobe, of his right lung removed to try to ensure that all of the cancer was removed.

The right lung has three sections or lobes while the left has two. Each lobe has its own airway branch and dedicated blood vessels and when one is removed, “the other lobes actually pick up some of the work,” said Dr. Ben Zhang, a thoracic surgeon at Allina Health in Minneapolis.

The lungs gradually compensate over several months until most people, especially those who already were physically active, notice little to no difference with exertion, he said.

The pope is known to engage in weekly tennis games and swimming.

In the U.S., the average hospital stay after lung cancer surgery is two nights, Zhang said. It depends in part on how quickly the patient can get up and walk around, as well as pain and how long a tube that can drain air and fluid from the chest is needed.

The pope was walking the next day, which Heymach called “typically a harbinger of a quicker recovery.”

Whether additional treatment is needed depends on the tumor’s stage, based on factors such as its size and whether it shows signs of spreading via the lymph nodes, and if markers on its cells suggest it may be aggressive. Additional treatment can be chemotherapy, used before surgery to shrink a tumor or afterward to attack any lingering cells. Other options include radiation, immunotherapy or what are called targeted drugs aimed at specific molecular drivers of a tumor.

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Pope Leo XIV arrives at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, where he's expected to be operated to remove a lung nodule. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Medical Director Andrea Cambieri, right, greets Pope Leo XIV as he arrives at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, where doctors expect to operate to remove a lung nodule. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)