LOS ANGELES (Interstat) — Mookie Betts drove in three runs with three doubles and Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivered a dominant start as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cincinnati Reds 8-4 on Wednesday to take a commanding lead in their National League playoff series.

A sellout crowd of 50,465 at Dodger Stadium watched the Dodgers seize a two-games-to-none advantage in the best-of-five series. The Reds, who have now lost three straight games, must win Thursday’s Game 3 at Dodger Stadium to avoid elimination.

Cincinnati stunned the home crowd early, capitalizing on a costly error to take a quick lead. With two outs in the first inning, Reds right fielder Austin Hays reached base on a fielding error by Dodgers right fielder Teoscar Hernández. Sal Stewart followed with a single to right field, scoring both Gavin Lux and Hays to give the Reds a 2-0 advantage against losing pitcher Zack Littell.

Los Angeles began its methodical comeback in the third inning. Ben Rortvedt led off with a double and scored on a single by Betts, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

The Dodgers took the lead an inning later. Max Muncy singled and scored on a double by Enrique Hernández. Miguel Rojas then singled home Hernández to put Los Angeles ahead 3-2.

The game broke open in the sixth inning. The Dodgers sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring four runs on four hits and a critical error. The rally started with a single by Hernández and a throwing error by Stewart at first base on a ball hit by Rortvedt. Shohei Ohtani tied the game with an RBI single, and Betts gave the Dodgers the lead for good with a two-run double. Teoscar Hernández capped the inning with a two-run double of his own, pushing the lead to 7-2.

Betts added his third RBI double in the seventh inning, scoring Rojas to make it 8-2.

Cincinnati mounted a final threat in the eighth, scoring two runs. Stewart delivered his third RBI of the game with a single, and Tyler Stephenson added a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 8-4. The Reds loaded the bases later in the inning, but reliever Alex Vesia struck out TJ Friedl to end the threat.

The late rally was not enough to overcome the brilliance of Yamamoto, the winning pitcher. He silenced the Reds’ bats after the first-inning error, pitching 6 2/3 strong innings. He allowed just four hits and no earned runs while striking out nine, effectively shutting down Cincinnati’s offense after its initial outburst.

Littell took the loss for the Reds, surrendering three runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings.

The Dodgers’ bullpen combination of Roki Sasaki, Vesia and Blake Treinen closed out the final 2 1/3 innings without allowing a hit, preserving the victory.

With the win, the Dodgers improved to 95-69 on the season, while the Reds fell to 83-81. The teams will meet again Thursday at Dodger Stadium, where the Dodgers will look to complete the series sweep and advance in the postseason.