The Dodgers are now on a two-game winning streak after securing a walk-off victory against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday.
Although the bullpen nearly cost the Dodgers with a three-run implosion in the top of the eighth inning, the highlight early on was the return of two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell. Snell began his night by retiring the first 10 hitters in a row, ending his night having allowed just three hits, one run and one walk while striking out 10, becoming the first Dodger to reach
double digit strikeouts in a start since Yoshinobu Yamamoto on July 4.
Snell spoke with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA about his return following Tuesday’s walk-off win, noting that his poor outing against the Atlanta Braves back in May helped him find a better rhythm and sequence on the mound.
“I had a lot of information from that game to help me with this one on what I wanted to do differently, and how I wanted to start. Definitely happy that I was more aggressive, more in the zone and more just in control of my emotions in being the first one back.”
Dave Roberts described Snell’s performance as “fantastic” and credited him for pushing through the sixth inning in his first game back.
“He was fantastic tonight. We pushed him a little bit into the sixth and through the sixth, but just because he was so efficient, certainly that extra inning was huge for us.”
Mookie Betts had himself a monster game offensively on Tuesday, finishing a triple shy of the cycle while driving in the tying run that helped the game reach extra innings.
It’s been a struggling season with the stick for Betts, and moments like the one he had Tuesday have been sparse, as he spoke with Watson about trying to find consistency at the plate.
“We’ll just go with a good day at the plate. We seem to have the story over and over again, so we’ll see tomorrow if we can string something together.”
Max Muncy ultimately was the hero once again for the Dodgers on Tuesday, as he delivered the walk-off blow in the bottom of the 10th to seal the series victory against Kansas City.
The Dodgers are starting to make their seven-game losing streak an outdated talking point, having won three of their last four games, and Muncy noted to Watson postgame that these wins have been a whole-team effort.
“Everyone is coming together. We’ve been grinding a little bit lately, but each day is a new day. You show up with an opportunity to do something great. We just keep trying to focus on the day we have at hand, and we’re going to keep doing that tomorrow.”
