The Royals had a chance to steal one from the Dodgers, and for a while it looked like the kind of night where a starter’s work and a timely rally might actually hold up. Instead, Kansas City left Los Angeles with a 5-4 loss in 10 innings, undone by a walkoff single and, once again, a bullpen that couldn’t protect a late lead.
Michael Wacha gave the Royals a strong start and carried the game deep into the seventh, while Blake Snell kept Kansas City mostly quiet on the other side. The early damage was limited to a Mookie Betts solo homer in the second and a Salvador Perez sacrifice fly in the fourth, which left the game feeling like a slow burn until the final stretch.
That changed in the seventh, when the Dodgers finally broke through. Alex Call doubled home Betts to put Los Angeles in front, and Teoscar Hernandez followed with another double that scored Call and stretched the lead to two.
Kansas City answered right away in the eighth. Against Evan Phillips, Nick Loftin drew a walk and moved to third on a Bobby Witt Jr. single. Jac Caglianone and Salvy then delivered back-to-back singles to pull the Royals even.
The go-ahead run came next on a wild sequence. Carter Jensen ripped a line drive that sent Andy Pages scrambling; Pages caught it, then dropped the ball before he could complete the throw, allowing Caglianone to score and give Kansas City the lead.
But the bullpen couldn’t finish the job. Stephen Cruz walked Pages, hit Max Muncy with a pitch, and then allowed a clean opposite-field single to Betts that tied the game again and forced extra innings.
The Royals did some of the right things in the 10th. Ghost runner Kyle Isbel advanced to third on a Loftin fly ball, but Witt flied out and Salvy grounded out, leaving Kansas City empty-handed.
Lucas Erceg nearly escaped the Dodgers’ half of the inning. He intentionally walked Freddie Freeman to try to set up a double play, then made a sharp throw to get Pages on a high bouncer.
Another intentional walk, this time to Kyle Tucker, loaded the bases and set up forceouts everywhere. Then the Dodgers got the hit they needed to end it.
It was the kind of finish that has become far too familiar for Kansas City, a game that started with enough promise to feel manageable and ended with the bullpen taking center stage for all the wrong reasons.
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Jac Caglianones Surge Just Created A Royals Question They Cant Ignore
Jac Caglianones first full season has started to look a lot more like the version the Royals imagined when they took him in the first round. The former first-round pick has already built a .258/.326/.458 line with 20 home runs, and since July 30 he has been on a tear, hitting .396 with a 230 wRC+ while filling in at first base during Vinnie Pasquantinos injury absence.
What makes the surge so interesting is that it has come while Caglianone has been in a different defensive spot, and the Royals now have a question worth digging into as they map out the rest of his role. His production has taken on a different shape depending on where hes lined up, and the way he is attacking at-bats in those games may force Kansas City to think hard about how it wants to deploy one of its most important young bats. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Prospect Buzz Is Suddenly Centered On A 17-Year-Old Outfielder
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Gomez has built that momentum with a strong showing in the Dominican Summer League, enough to earn All-Star honors and put him on the radar as one of the organizations most intriguing young players. Kansas City still has plenty of other names worth tracking, from Josh Hammond and Ramon Ramirez to David Shields, Zion Rose, Taylor Rabe and Jack Slightom, but the rise of Gomez gives the system a new headliner and raises the obvious question of how fast his stock can keep climbing. [Read more 🡒]
Lucas Erceg Is Forcing A Royals Bullpen Question Nobody Wanted
Lucas Erceg arrived in Kansas City before the 2024 trade deadline and immediately looked like part of the answer in the late innings. For a stretch, the Royals had a right-handed reliever who could shorten games, miss bats and fit into the kind of bullpen structure contenders need, even as the bigger picture around the relief corps remained a little hazy.
This season, though, the fit has become harder to trust. Ercegs strikeout rate has dipped, the walks have piled up and his results have turned rough enough to raise a familiar Royals concern: whether they have enough reliable late-inning pitching to lean on when games tighten up. He is still under club control through 2029, so this is not a short-term problem Kansas City can simply pitch around, which makes the next stretch for both Erceg and the bullpen even more important. [Read more 🡒]