The wins are rare and not so easily attained for the Dodgers at this specific moment in the season. And hosting the Royals, it took all that this team had to outlast the opposition in a 6-5 victory in a back-and-forth matchup with multiple lead changes, ultimately decided on a Freddie Freeman RBI single.
Allowing a run in the first, Tarik Skubal didn't deliver a lights-out performance, but how a pitcher handles outings with some form of adversity can often be the true measure of him. The Royals were relatively lucky to get on the board early on with a softly hit single from Nick Loftin that found the right spot—followed by an RBI knock from Jac Caglianone on a groundball that should've found a Dodger glove but didn't, as Miguel Rojas and Mookie Betts didn't react well enough to make a play. Those two singles were enough for the run because once Bobby Witt Jr. replaced Loftin on the basepaths after a forceout, he showed off his speed by swiftly stealing second, his AL-leading 32nd SB.
It would not be the only time Caglianone would hurt Skubal, as a couple of innings later, he would hit a two-run shot on a hanging slider to hand the Royals a 3-0 lead. What was particular about that at-bat was the unpredictable attack plan of Skubal versus Caglianone, with the slider being the fifth different pitch he threw to Caglianone. The problem is that unpredictability can only do so much if hangers are coming to the plate.
Laboring a bit more than he is used to per inning, Skubal established a very high pitch count in the first few frames, allowing him to just complete five, not before getting the final laugh on Caglianone, though. Caglianone came up to the plate with two on and two out in the fifth with the chance to do the most damage in this one. Skubal gave him a recipe of nothing but heaters that laid the groundwork for a strike three swinging on a changeup down and in, a dangerous pitch to throw to the tall lefty, but one that worked out.
Chasing the game from the start, the Dodgers didn't spend a lot of time trailing by those three runs, answering the Royals' two-run third with two of their own in the bottom of the frame. The lefties provided the big hits against Noah Cameron as a Shohei Ohtani RBI double was followed by a Freddie Freeman single to make it 3-2.
#freddie
Allowing a run in the first, Tarik Skubal didn't deliver a lights-out performance, but how a pitcher handles outings with some form of adversity can often be the true measure of him. The Royals were relatively lucky to get on the board early on with a softly hit single from Nick Loftin that found the right spot—followed by an RBI knock from Jac Caglianone on a groundball that should've found a Dodger glove but didn't, as Miguel Rojas and Mookie Betts didn't react well enough to make a play. Those two singles were enough for the run because once Bobby Witt Jr. replaced Loftin on the basepaths after a forceout, he showed off his speed by swiftly stealing second, his AL-leading 32nd SB.
It would not be the only time Caglianone would hurt Skubal, as a couple of innings later, he would hit a two-run shot on a hanging slider to hand the Royals a 3-0 lead. What was particular about that at-bat was the unpredictable attack plan of Skubal versus Caglianone, with the slider being the fifth different pitch he threw to Caglianone. The problem is that unpredictability can only do so much if hangers are coming to the plate.
Laboring a bit more than he is used to per inning, Skubal established a very high pitch count in the first few frames, allowing him to just complete five, not before getting the final laugh on Caglianone, though. Caglianone came up to the plate with two on and two out in the fifth with the chance to do the most damage in this one. Skubal gave him a recipe of nothing but heaters that laid the groundwork for a strike three swinging on a changeup down and in, a dangerous pitch to throw to the tall lefty, but one that worked out.
Chasing the game from the start, the Dodgers didn't spend a lot of time trailing by those three runs, answering the Royals' two-run third with two of their own in the bottom of the frame. The lefties provided the big hits against Noah Cameron as a Shohei Ohtani RBI double was followed by a Freddie Freeman single to make it 3-2.
#freddie
2 months ago
