The Los Angeles Dodgers completed a comeback against the Kansas City Royals, winning 4-3 led by a pair of unlikely heroes.
Both Gavin Stone and Cole Ragans were locked in early, throwing three scoreless innings with no one on either side reaching until the third inning with a single.
That changed in the fourth inning. Maikel García singled, Vinnie Pasquatino walked, and Salvador Pérez crushed a ball into the upper section of the left field pavilion.
Pérez’s home run left the bat at 113.3 mph and traveled 437 feet, making it the fifth-hardest hit batted ball, and third-hardest home run, in the Statcast era (since 2015). The only homers hit harder both came in 2021.
Outside of that, Stone turned in another solid outing, going seven innings, giving up the three runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Prior to the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke about needing length from Stone, and he provided just that.
“He’s becoming that guy,” Roberts said. “I think, just the composure, the poise, the strike throwing. I thought even in that first inning (of his last outing), there were some understandable emotions, but was able to temper him, get a ground ball, minimize damage, and I just feel that he can go deep in games. And today’s a day that we’re going to need some length, and I just feel like he’s the right guy.”
The Dodgers struggled for the first four innings against Ragans, but they recieved some power from the bottom of their lineup.
After a single from Andy Pages, Miguel Rojas roped a line drive homer down the left field line, putting the Dodgers within two runs. It was his third homer of the season and broke shutout Ragans was throwing.
With two outs in the inning, Chris Taylor clubbed his first home run of the season to tie the game. The Dodgers’ dugout erupted, and every player made sure to show Taylor some praise when he got back after rounding the bases.
Calling it a tough season for Taylor might be understating it, but he has continued to put in the work, taking additional batting practice before the game.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Mookie Betts singled and advanced to second on an error. Freddie Freeman then drove him in to put the Dodgers up by one and in position to win the game.
Daniel Hudson pitched the eighth to pick up the win, and Alex Vesia recorded the save.
Shohei Ohtani breaking out of slump for Dodgers?
Ohtani has been going through a rough stretch at the plate, but he picked up two hits in the game. Earlier in the day, Roberts expressed the belief that Ohtani was close to breaking out, and a day ago, Ohtani said he isn’t worried about his recent lack of production, noting the ups and downs of a baseball season.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
