LOS ANGELES — Rather than let a leaky bullpen and a botched transfer spoil their evening, the Dodgers battled back to cue up “I Love L.A.” for the second night in a row.
Manager Dave Roberts wanted to see his team play with more urgency amid its recent skid, and the Dodgers did just that in the first two games against the Royals.
“I think the results speak for themselves,” Muncy said. “I think one of the big things for us was trying to get everyone back focused on what’s happening today and not carrying each day over to the next one. There was a lot of us doing that, myself included, and it’s just hard to play when you’re letting the days kind of compound on you like that. You just have to keep moving forward.”
While Blake Snell’s return from the injured list went about as well as it could have, he received one run of support — on Mookie Betts’ solo homer in the second inning — and exited with a no-decision. L.A. briefly went back in front on the strength of back-to-back RBI doubles from Alex Call and Teoscar Hernández in the bottom of the seventh.
Righty Evan Phillips, who had gone unscored upon in six straight appearances amid a rocky return from Tommy John surgery, struck out the first batter he faced in the top of the eighth but did not record another out. The Royals tied the game on back-to-back singles from Jac Caglianone and Salvador Perez, leading manager Dave Roberts to lift Phillips in favor of lefty Jack Dreyer.
Kansas City scored the go-ahead run on an error when center fielder Andy Pages could not pull off a clean transfer after snagging a Carter Jensen liner. Dreyer struck out Michael Massey to keep L.A. within a run.
The Dodgers answered right back in the bottom of the eighth, tying the game once more on Betts’ third hit of the night, an RBI single. After Edgardo Henriquez tossed a 1-2-3 top of the ninth, Nate Pearson followed suit for the Royals, and the contest went to extras.
Seth Halvorsen kept Kansas City off the board in his Dodgers debut, putting L.A. in position to walk off in the bottom of the 10th. With Shohei Ohtani aboard as the automatic runner, and Freddie Freeman and Kyle Tucker being intentionally walked to load the bases, Muncy smacked a 2-2 fastball from Lucas Erceg into center field to send his team to victory.
“It’s just guys coming together and being ready when called upon,” Roberts said. “It doesn’t matter who’s playing, where you hit, who’s pitching. Just find a way to win a game.”
Coming off a stretch where the Dodgers lost eight of nine — including a season-high seven-game losing streak — they felt the urgency their manager described upon returning to Dodger Stadium. Rather than being overly reactive to the stretch of poor play, they worked to channel that feeling into turning things around.
For the first time since July 29-30, the Dodgers have won consecutive games and have something to build on as they look to turn the page on their tough past couple of weeks.
“Nobody panicked,” Betts said. “We didn’t change routines. We didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. We all show up, work hard, do everything we can to be successful, and sometimes you’re just going to go through ruts. I mean, it kind of happens to everyone, and so hopefully we’re past it.”
