Reds at Angels on August 20, 2025 features Nick Martinez against Yusei Kikuchi in a game Cincinnati hopes to close out the series with a sweep in Anaheim. Martinez has been solid at times but carries a 4.73 ERA this season; Kikuchi sits at 3.52 with a recent rough stretch. Hunter Greene provided a striking performance in the Reds’ 6-4 win, fanning 12 while Jo Adell stayed dangerous with two late homers for the Angels. Cincinnati sits 1.0 game back of the Mets for the NL Wild Card and will lean on a favorable road tilt as they chase late-season momentum.

Betting trends add intrigue: Reds are 7-3 over their last 10, 4-0 on the road, and have covered in 8 straight against Los Angeles while taking 3 straight at Angels. Angels have cooled to 1-4 in their last five. NBC Sports’ model projects Reds on the moneyline, Angels at +1.5 against the spread, and the total nudging over 8.0. The matchup is ripe for fantasy dust-ups from Cincinnati’s Greene and Martinez, and from Los Angeles’ Kikuchi and Adell in a game with high strikeout and power upside.

Watch for daily fantasy angles: Martinez’s durability can be a factor, while Kikuchi’s control and Angels’ lineup balance could tilt toward a more patient approach. The Reds’ bullpen depth could push Martinez to chase efficiency, whereas the Angels may lean on Adell and a power surge that can swing DFS contests.

The Angels found a rare bright spot this August: Jo Adell unleashed two solo homers in a 6-4 loss to the Reds, boosting his season total to 28 and keeping Angels fans dreaming about a power surge in the post-Ohtani era. He followed a 452-foot center-field shot in the seventh with a game-tying blow in the eighth, his exit velocity peaking at 115.3 mph and underscoring the elite pop he’s brought to Anaheim in 2025.

Meanwhile, Taylor Ward continued to carry the load, pushing his HR total toward a personal best while the Angels’ two-season rebuild inches forward on the back of homegrown talent. Even in defeat, these moments matter for fantasy managers — Adell’s raw power and Ward’s steady output give the Angels a (rare) silver lining in a year defined by transition.

Names like Trout and Ohtani loom in the backdrop, but the real story for 2025 is how Adell and Ward are emerging as the team’s next core. The milestone chase—two Angels with 30+ HRs—highlights a franchise reimagining its offense around homegrown power rather than marquee stars. For fantasy owners, Adell and Ward are the best anchors of that future, offering both power and staring lineup potential as the season winds down.

The Cincinnati Reds rallied in the ninth to thwart the Los Angeles Angels 6-4, keeping pace with the Mets in the NL wild-card chase. A late sequence featured TJ Friedl’s sacrifice fly and Gavin Lux’s go-ahead double off Kenley Jansen, then a Rugged finish as the Reds seized control with three runs in the final frame. Earlier, Hunter Greene dazzled in his first Angels start, punching out 12 over 6 1/3 innings while Elly De La Cruz flashed wheels on a pair of 270-foot baserunner scores that helped stretch a 4-1 cushion.

Greene’s return from a groin strain looked sharp, and he controlled the damage while racking strikeouts at a historic pace for the franchise. De La Cruz’s aggressive baserunning and timely hits helped Cincinnati build and maintain momentum, even as the Angels flirted with another late rally. The win pushed Cincinnati to 67-60, one game behind the Mets for the final wild-card spot with 35 games left, underscoring the Reds’ resilience and playoff implications down the stretch.

Dodgers drop a second straight to the Angels in Anaheim as Shohei Ohtani shines despite the loss. He scored the first run and blasted a ninth-inning solo shot that briefly put LA ahead, only for a walk-off RBI by Jo Adell off Ben Casparius to steal the win. Ohtani heads to the mound in the series finale, seeking his first 2025 pitching win while staying a nightly fantasy staple with big-chunk upside at the plate. Freddie Freeman kept the mood light with a witty, confidence-fueled line about Ohtani’s dual-threat brilliance.

Ohtani’s pitching line remains a tease: 0-0 with a 2.37 ERA across 19 innings in eight starts, yet his career track record at Angel Stadium (. . . 21-8, 2.22 ERA) suggests a favorable matchup feel for Wednesday. The Dodgers’ West-leading tension lingers as San Diego’s late win tightened the NL West, leaving LA clinging to control while Ohtani continues to offer multi-game fantasy leverage as a pitcher and proven contributor at the plate. The Hendricks angle adds another layer: a 3-for-5, HR-plus-RBI history against him punctuates the potential ceiling in a high-stakes series finale.