By Earl Heath | Contributing Sports Writer
The Los Angeles Dodgers have finally found some momentum, winning back-to-back games against the Kansas City Royals after enduring an eight-game losing streak.
Max Muncy delivered the biggest hit of the latest victory, lining a single into right-center field in the bottom of the 10th inning to score Shohei Ohtani and give the Dodgers a dramatic 5-4 win.
Ohtani began the 10th as the automatic runner at second and scored when Muncy’s hit found the gap. Muncy finished the game 4-for-4, while Ohtani went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
The Dodgers had rallied to tie the game 4-4 in the eighth inning on Mookie Betts’ RBI single. The Royals had taken a 4-3 lead in the top of the eighth after an Andy Pages fielding error helped Kansas City score three runs.
Kansas City’s rally included an RBI single by Jac Caglianone that made it 3-2, followed by Salvador Perez’s RBI single to tie the game. Carter Jensen’s fly ball then helped put the Royals ahead.
The Dodgers answered late, setting up Muncy’s walk-off hit in the 10th.
Snell Returns
Blake Snell made his first start since returning from rehabilitation, pitching six innings of three-hit ball. Snell had missed approximately three months while recovering from elbow surgery.
Seth Halvorsen earned the victory with one inning of relief in his Dodgers debut, improving to 1-1.
The win came one night after Los Angeles defeated Kansas City 6-5, giving the Dodgers consecutive victories after a difficult stretch.
Skubal Makes Dodgers Debut
In the previous game, Tarik Skubal made his second start for Los Angeles after arriving from Detroit in a major trade. The two-time Cy Young Award winner allowed four hits and struck out six over five innings.
Kansas City’s Caglianone homered and drove in all three of the Royals’ runs against Skubal, who left with Los Angeles trailing 3-2.
The Dodgers rallied in the sixth when Muncy delivered a three-run double on his bobblehead night. Kansas City answered in the seventh when Kyle Isbel hit a two-run homer to tie the game.
Ohtani then singled and stole his first base since May 16 before scoring on Freddie Freeman’s single to put Los Angeles ahead.
Ohtani also contributed an early RBI double.
Edwin Díaz closed out the victory with a perfect ninth inning for his sixth save, rebounding after consecutive blown saves in Arizona.
The two wins improved the Dodgers to 8-12 since July 19 and provided a much-needed spark after the club’s eight-game skid.
For a team with championship expectations, the back-to-back victories offer a reminder that the Dodgers still have plenty of time to regain their form.