The Dodgers didn’t get a clean, comfortable night. They got a scrap.
In a game that swung back and forth all evening, they outlasted the Royals 6-5 at home, with Freddie Freeman’s RBI single in the seventh finally putting them in front for good. That was the margin in a contest that featured multiple lead changes and just enough offense from both sides to keep it tense all the way through.
The Royals struck first against Tarik Skubal, and the opening run came with a little help. Nick Loftin opened the scoring with a softly hit single that found grass, then Jac Caglianone followed with an RBI knock on a groundball that should have been handled but wasn’t, as Miguel Rojas and Mookie Betts didn’t react well enough to make a play. Bobby Witt Jr. then took over on the bases after a forceout, swiping second for his AL-leading 32nd stolen base.
Caglianone wasn’t done causing problems. A couple innings later, he jumped on a hanging slider and launched a two-run homer to push Kansas City ahead 3-0.
The at-bat stood out because Skubal had mixed in five different pitches, trying to keep the rookie guessing. It didn’t matter once the slider stayed up.
Skubal still found a way to limit the damage after that rough start. He worked through some traffic, drove his pitch count up early, and eventually finished five innings.
He also got the last word on Caglianone in the fifth, when the Royals slugger came up with two on and two out. Skubal went with heaters, then finished him with a changeup down and in for strike three swinging.
The Dodgers answered quickly after falling behind by three. In the bottom of the third, Shohei Ohtani ripped an RBI double and Freeman followed with a single, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
Tommy Edman helped spark the Dodgers’ biggest push of the night in the sixth. First, he laid out in left field to snag a fly ball from Starling Marte.
Then, moments later, he beat out an infield single to keep the inning alive. Miguel Rojas followed with a double, and with Noah Cameron suddenly in trouble and two runners in scoring position, the Royals went to John Schreiber.
Kyle Tucker pinch hit for Teoscar Hernández and drew a walk, loading the bases for Max Muncy, who came through again with a bases-clearing double.
That should have been enough cushion in a normal game. It wasn’t.
Kansas City answered right back in the next half-inning, with Jack Dreyer leaving a slider up to Kyle Isbel, who sent it just over the right-field wall for a game-tying homer. It was only Isbel’s fourth of the season.
The Dodgers eventually reclaimed the lead in the seventh, even with a bit of self-inflicted trouble. Ohtani stole second with Andy Pages at the plate, but Pages was struck out looking on a bad call that couldn’t be challenged because of earlier failed challenges by Rojas and Pages. Freeman erased the frustration soon after by driving in Ohtani to make it 6-5.
That was all the offense the Dodgers would need. The bullpen shut things down from there, capped by a clean one-two-three ninth from Edwin Díaz.
Blake Snell gets the ball next as the Dodgers try to build on the win and move past a shaky season debut against the Braves. He’ll face Michael Wacha and the Royals again in the same place at the same time, with first pitch set for 7:10 p.m. (PT).
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