Dodgers cap comeback on Freddie Freeman’s 8th-inning RBI single
The Dodgers fell behind the Royals 3-0 early but came back to tie it on home runs by Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor, then Freeman’s RBI single in the eighth drove in the decisive run in a 4-3 win.
LOS ANGELES — Freddie Freeman was the most disgruntled .290 hitter in baseball for most of the season’s first two months, searching for a swing that would satisfy his high standards.
Chris Taylor would kill for half of that.
Taylor got some “relief” from his miserable season with a game-tying home run while Freeman has emerged from his gloom in June and is batting .357 this month after stroking the go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning to give the Dodgers a 4-3, come-from-behind victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.
“Yeah. It’s been awhile,” Taylor said of his first home run since last Sept. 7, a stretch of 165 homer-less plate appearances in between. “I think it was more of a relief than anything. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get to do that again.”
The Dodgers’ offense has had its own – much milder – dry spells spaced out in an all-or-nothing pattern over the past month. It was nothing for four innings against Royals starter Cole Ragans on Friday.
The left-hander retired the first 10 Dodgers in order before giving up a hit – a single through the right side by Shohei Ohtani.
Dodgers starter Gavin Stone nearly matched that, retiring eight of the first nine Royals batters and picking off the one baserunner he allowed on a third-inning single.
But Stone gave up a single and a walk with one out in the fourth inning then made a big mistake. He rolled a first-pitch slider over the heart of the plate to Salvador Perez. Perez crushed it 437 feet deep into the left field pavilion for a three-run home run.
It was the only mistake for Stone, who gave up just one more hit after Perez’s fourth-inning homer while completing seven innings for the fourth time in his past nine starts.
“I feel like that’s my job, more or less – to go deep in games, give us some length and let the bullpen come in and do their job in the later innings,” Stone said.
The reliable nature of Stone’s starts belies his lack of experience but he has become a trusted member of the Dodgers’ rotation, Manager Dave Roberts said.
“He’s been consistent,” Roberts said. “I think with Gavin, I’ve got all the trust in the world in him that he can make a pitch when he needs to, get back after a tough inning and keep us in the ballgame – which he did – save the bullpen, which it seems he does every time he takes the baseball.
“He’s earned that trust.”
The Dodgers scored seven runs in the sixth inning on Tuesday against the Texas Rangers, hitting four home runs in the inning. Over their next 24 innings (through the fourth inning Friday night), they managed just four runs on 13 hits.
Andy Pages beat out an infield single and the Dodgers’ offense jerked back to life when Ragans busted Miguel Rojas inside with a 3-and-1 fastball. Rojas turned on it, sending a fly ball down the left field line that curled just inside the foul pole for a two-run home run.
“That was a big hit for us. Kind of gave us some life,” Roberts said. “Ragans was throwing the ball well. … In one moment you’re thinking you might get no-hit and the next thing you know, you’re back in the ballgame. Big hit by Miggy Ro.”
Rojas has been a pleasant surprise offensively this season. Taylor has been – something else entirely.
But he got a changeup below the knees from Ragans and golfed it into the left field pavilion two batters after Rojas’ homer, tying the score at 3-3.
It was only Taylor’s second extra-base hit in 105 plate appearances that have produced just 10 hits of any kind.
“I try to just take it day by day. I definitely have my moments of frustration,” Taylor said of life with a sub-.100 batting average. “I’m just trying to embrace the process and trust that my work is going to eventually come through for me. I know what I’m capable of. Just not losing sight of that and continuing to grind through.”
Even as he struggled to find a way out of his season-long slump, Roberts said Taylor has been “pretty much (the) same” person each day. Taylor said there have been moments of frustration but he doesn’t carry that away from the ballpark.
“No, my family helps with that,” Taylor said. “I say all the time I don’t know how I would have handled this earlier in my career. I think I took things home with me a lot more. Now that I have my wife and kid at home it’s a good escape from all this. I’m very thankful that I have them.”
Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. nipped one potential Dodgers rally in the bud with an outstanding defensive play in the seventh inning. After Teoscar Hernandez drew a leadoff walk against Ragans, Pages blooped one toward left field. Witt ran it down with his back turned toward home plate, caught it over his shoulder, spun and threw to second baseman Nick Loftin who relayed it to first to double off Hernandez.
“There are just not too many guys that have the ability to make that play,” Roberts said.
Instead, the Dodgers put together the winning rally in the eighth. Mookie Betts singled off the glove of third baseman Maikel Garcia and went to second on a wild pickoff attempt by Royals reliever Will Smith. Ohtani popped out for the second out of the inning.
That brought up Freeman to face Smith – a matchup of teammates from the Atlanta Braves’ 2021 World Series-winning team. Freeman got a 1-and-0 slider from Smith off the plate away and stroked it into center field for a single, scoring Betts with the deciding run.
It was a far different eighth inning than the previous two nights. Trailing each night against the Rangers, Betts, Ohtani and Freeman struck out in order against veteran reliever David Robertson both nights.
“Freddie knows how to get a hit,” Roberts said. “Coming through in that spot, I know it was a big weight off his shoulders and a big hit.”
Freeman gives the #Dodgers the lead with an RBI single!
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— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 15, 2024
Dave Roberts speaks on Freddie Freeman’s performance and Gavin Stone’s consistency.
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— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 15, 2024
Miguel Rojas with a 2-run
!
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CT3 makes it a 3-3 ballgame in the 5th!
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— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 15, 2024
Gavin Stone talks about his performance tonight and pitching into the 7th inning.
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— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 15, 2024
.@kirsten_watson speaks with Miguel Rojas about his home run tonight and the #Dodgers win.
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— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 15, 2024