The Dodgers opened their homestand with a one-run win that felt a lot like a needed reset.
After a rough road trip and three straight series losses, Los Angeles edged the Kansas City Royals 6-5 at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. The result also snapped a six-game skid for the Dodgers against left-handed starters, a useful lift for a club that has been searching for steadier footing.
This matchup came with some clear contrasts on paper: the Dodgers entered as one of baseball’s four teams with at least 70 wins, while the Royals were one of four teams sitting on 70 losses this season.
Tarik Skubal’s first home appearance in a Dodgers uniform was one of the night’s biggest talking points before first pitch. Skubal had already pitched at Dodger Stadium on domestic Opening Day of the 2025 season, but this was his first time there as a member of the Dodgers.
“I think with great players, there are very few things that are new to them and get that the nerviness or the excitement, whatever you want to call it, in them,” manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “And I think that making his first appearance in a home jersey at Dodger Stadium is doing that to Tarik.
“I think he’s very excited about tonight, and so that energy is going to be translated into the stands, in the dugout. There’s kind of a buzz in the clubhouse. He comes in with positive energy, with focus, and so it’s going to be an electric night.”
Roberts also said the Dodgers intended to lean heavily on Skubal, with five innings from Blake Snell being the best-case scenario for Tuesday night.
The start did not begin cleanly for Skubal. He allowed a leadoff single, and though that was wiped away by a force out, Bobby Witt Jr. stole second base after beating out a double play. Jac Caglianone then punched a soft grounder up the middle for an RBI single.
Caglianone struck again in the third, drilling a 410-foot homer to right-center with two strikes and two outs to push Kansas City’s lead to 3-0. Skubal did not retire the side in order until the fourth inning and finished with five innings.
The Dodgers chipped away from there. Hunter Feduccia and Shohei Ohtani opened the third with back-to-back doubles, and Freddie Freeman followed with an RBI single to get Los Angeles on the board.
They were still trailing when Max Muncy came through with a bases-loaded double. Tommy Edman sparked that sequence by beating out a potential double play, Miguel Rojas added a double, and Kyle Tucker worked a walk after pinch-hitting for Teoscar Hernández against a right-hander.
Muncy’s hit came on his bobblehead night, and Dodger Stadium erupted. Kansas City answered in the seventh, though, when Jack Dreyer gave up a game-tying two-run homer.
Los Angeles had the final response. In the bottom of the seventh, Freeman delivered another RBI single, this one bringing Ohtani home with the go-ahead run.
Edwin Díaz handled the ninth. Pitching for the fourth time since surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow, he retired the side in order to lock down the save.
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Dodgers Quietly Made A Roster Move As October Focus Starts Showing
The Dodgers have quietly started doing the kind of roster housekeeping that comes with an organization already thinking a step ahead. Five minor league players were released to open space for the clubs 2026 draft class, a small but telling move that speaks to how Los Angeles keeps one eye on the present and another on the pipeline. For a team built to contend deep into October, these are the behind-the-scenes decisions that rarely draw much attention outside the front office, even though they help shape what comes next.
At the same time, the rotation continues to settle into the spotlight in a place where every outing feels a little bigger. Tarik Skubal recently spoke about being more nervous than usual in his Dodger Stadium home debut, a start in which he went five innings and struck out six in a win. For the Dodgers, that mix of roster churn and postseason-adjacent pressure is part of the late-season backdrop now, with the bigger picture still taking shape in plain sight. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler Glasnow Has More Than One Reason This Return Feels Different
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The comeback has also taken on a more personal tone for Glasnow, who is dealing with more than just the baseball side of the rehab process. Along with the ramp-up toward rejoining the Dodgers, he and his wife Meghan Murphy are preparing for their first child, adding a separate layer of significance to a stretch that already feels different than a routine injury return. [Read more 🡒]
Dave Roberts Sent The Message Dodgers Fans Needed To Hear
After a rough loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Freddie Freeman offered a steadying voice for a Dodgers club that has had to answer a few too many questions lately. In the middle of a stretch where the offense has not always looked like itself, the message from inside the clubhouse was less about panic and more about belief, with Freeman pointing to the talent still in place and the expectation that the group will sort itself out.
Dave Roberts followed with the part fans usually want to hear most when the results have been uneven: the Dodgers need to move with urgency and get better. There was a quick response on the field, too, as Los Angeles beat Arizona in the next game and showed signs of more life at the plate, a small but meaningful step for a team trying to stabilize its rhythm before the next skid has a chance to linger. [Read more 🡒]