Dodgers score: LA shows vs. Royals why it is one of MLB's best teams

15/06/2024

The Dodgers looked like they were going to lose another game where they allowed exactly three runs. They did that twice to close their series against the Rangers and trailed 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth against the Royals on Friday. Then the bottom of Los Angeles' order sparked a comeback that was finished by the top of the order.

Andy Pages led off the fifth inning with an infield single to short. That extended his hitting streak to six games. He's also hit in 13 of his last 14 starts. Miguel Rojas followed with a two-run home run -- his third of the year -- to cut Kansas City's lead to 3-2.

Chris Taylor stepped to the plate two batters later sporting a .100 batting average and a .307 OPS with no home runs on the season. He changed that with one swing and sent out a solo home run that tied the game for LA.

Another stout pitching performance from Gavin Stone and the Dodgers bullpen kept a scuffling Royals club at bay just long enough for the top of the order to come through.

In the bottom of the eighth the Dodgers sent up Taylor and then the top of their order. It was the same Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman trio that came up short in their two losses to the Rangers on Wednesday and Thursday. They all struck out consecutively late in back-to-back close losses to Texas. They came through Friday.

Betts singled and went to second on a throwing error after Taylor struck out to lead off the inning. Ohtani popped out to short, but then Freeman got the hit the Dodgers couldn't get against Texas. Freeman got fooled a bit on a slider that was breaking away from him. He still got enough barrel on it to loft a knock into left field that scored Betts from second.

This was the kind of game the Dodgers really struggled to have during their skid through the second half of May. They'd either get big production from the top of the lineup and not the bottom, or vice versa. They also wasted a bunch of excellent pitching performances, but they didn't do that Friday. On Friday LA got production from up and down their lineup and helped back up a fine start from Stone and strong relief efforts from Daniel Hudson and Alex Vesia. That's a very good team win over one of the teams currently holding an American League wild card spot.

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