The Dodgers have their first sweep of the second half, as they took care of business against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday with a 4-2 victory.
The early game jitters flared up again for Eric Lauer, as he left two men on in the top of the first inning. He was one out away from a perfect second inning, but he walked the speedy Tyler Tolbert before Josh Rojas drove him home with a single to right field.
Mookie Betts erased the Kansas City lead by smashing his second home run in as many games, tying
the score at 1. It’s the first time Betts has hit home runs in consecutive games since doing so from June 24-27.
Lauer began the third inning by striking out Bobby Witt Jr., but a wild throw from Mookie Betts allowed Jac Caglianone to reach second. The error proved costly as Salvador Pérez attacked the first pitch he saw and drove home Caglianone on a single to give the Royals the lead again.
As quick as the Royals were to strike back, the Dodgers answered back against Lynch in the bottom of the third inning. Miguel Rojas put the tying run on base with a double before Shohei Ohtani took Lynch the other way for a go-ahead, two-run home run, giving the Dodgers the lead and knocking the southpaw out of the game.
The Dodgers wasted a leadoff single from Betts in the bottom of the fourth, but Hunter Feduccia helped pad the lead with a solo home run against Mason Black in the bottom of the fifth inning. It was just the third career home run for Feduccia, and his first hit in a Dodger uniform.
After allowing three consecutive baserunners in the top of the third inning, Lauer kept the Royals at bay the rest of the way. He retired 10 consecutive hitters until he allowed a two-out walk to Isaac Collins in the top of the sixth inning. He ended his night by striking out Josh Rojas to begin the top of the seventh inning while tossing a season-high 112 pitches, the first time his pitch count reached triple digits this year. After allowing six runs in his most previous start, Lauer allowed just two runs while striking out six, the most in any start as a Dodger.
Landon Knack nearly let the lead slip, as he allowed a pair of two-out singles, but he got Luke Maile to ground out to first to get out of trouble. Knack ended up getting the final eight outs in relief of Lauer, giving him the third save of his career.
Mookie Betts added a walk to his two hits in the bottom of the sixth inning, and he finished the three-game set with a batting average at .545 while smashing two home runs and driving in three.
The Dodgers still hold onto a 7 1/2 game lead over the San Diego Padres for the NL West lead, and with the Milwaukee Brewers having been swept by San Diego, the Dodgers are now just one game back for the best record in baseball.
Game particulars
- Home runs— Mookie Betts (15), Shohei Ohtani (27), Hunter Feduccia (3)
- WP— Eric Lauer (7-6): 6 1/3 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs (1 earned run), 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
- LP— Daniel Lynch IV (4-4): 2 1/3 IP, 3 hits, 3 earned runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts
- SV— Landon Knack (1): 2 2/3 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts
Up next
The Dodgers continue their homestand on Thursday as they begin a four-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers (7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Roki Sasaki faces Shane Drohan.
