LOS ANGELES – LOS ANGELES (AP) — Freddie Freeman lined a two-out RBI single to center in the eighth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied to beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Friday night.
Mookie Betts singled, took second on an errant throw by reliever Will Smith (0-3) and scored on Freeman’s groundout.
Daniel Hudson (3-1) got the win with a scoreless inning of relief and Alex Vesia pitched the ninth to earn his third save.
The Royals tied it early with two outs in the ninth on a single by pinch-hitter Nelson Velazquez, but Nick Loftin flied out to end it.
The Dodgers tied the game at 3-3 with two outs in the fifth, with offense from the bottom half of the lineup.
Miguel Rojas hit a two-run homer just inside the left field foul pole and one batter later Chris Taylor went deep to tie him up. It was Taylor’s first home run since September 7th.
“It was more relief than anything,” said Taylor, who came in at .100. “I definitely have my moments of frustration. I just try to embrace the process and trust that my work will ultimately be successful for me.”
The Dodgers are 19-0 when Rojas hits.
“Not playing every day is kind of a challenge, but at the end of the day the biggest secret for me is to approach every game like it’s a playoff game,” Rojas said.
Visiting Dodger Stadium for the first time since 2017, the Royals felt right at home.
Salvador Pérez blasted a 437-foot home run that came off his bat at 113.3 mph, traveling most of the way to the left-field pavilion in the fourth. Maikel Garcia singled, took second on Bobby Witt Jr.’s groundout and moved to third on Gavin Stone’s wild pitch. Vinnie Pasquantino walked to set up Perez, who made it 3-0.
Perez left the game in the eighth.
Witt Jr.., who came in with a .330 average, went 0-for-4 on his 24th birthday. He hit Andy Pages over his shoulder, threw to second and Loftin homered to first to complete the Royals’ second double play in the seventh.
Dodgers starter Stone allowed three runs and four hits in seven innings. He struck out three and walked two.
Royals starter Cole Ragans gave up three runs and seven hits in seven innings. He struck out four and walked one.
The Dodgers improved to 16-1 at home against the Royals, who were defeated on their last visit.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: INF-OF Adam Frazier has been activated from the bereavement list.
Dodgers: RHP Bobby Miller (shoulder) will start Wednesday at Colorado.
REAL TRADE
Kansas City traded minor league catcher Logan Porter to the San Francisco Giants for cash or a player to be named later.
NEXT
Royals: RHP Seth Lugo (9-2, 2.36 ERA) starts Saturday coming off his first loss since April 21. He has allowed nine runs in 13 innings over his last two starts.
Dodgers: RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (6-2, 3.00) goes Saturday after having his scheduled start Thursday postponed for extra rest.
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