Tarik Skubal remains winless since trade, but Dodgers edge Royals
Skubal has yet to earn a win in two starts since he was acquired by LA after winning the past two American League Cy Young Awards for the Detroit Tigers.
Tarik Skubal went five innings in his home debut, Freddie Freeman delivered a go-ahead single in the seventh inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a 6-5 victory against the Kansas City Royals on Monday.
Max Muncy had a three-run double while Freeman had three hits as the Dodgers won the opener of a seven-game homestand after losing eight of their previous nine games. Freeman’s one-out single in the seventh scored Shohei Ohtani from second base.
Skubal allowed three runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts in a no-decision. He has yet to earn a win in two starts since he was acquired by Los Angeles at the trade deadline after winning the past two American League Cy Young Awards for the Detroit Tigers.
Jac Caglianone homered and drove in three runs while Kyle Isbel added a home run for the Royals, who lost for their fourth time in five games and fell to 3-8 since July 30.
Kansas City left-hander Noah Cameron permitted four runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings after having allowed one earned run over his previous three outings (23 innings). He fanned two and walked two.
Royals reliever Alex Lange (1-7) yielded one run in his lone inning.
The Royals got to Skubal in the first inning on an RBI single from Caglianone, who added a two-run home run in the third inning for a 3-0 lead. It was his 21st long ball of the season.
The Dodgers responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third on an RBI double from Ohtani and a run-scoring single from Freeman.
Los Angeles charged in front for the first time in the sixth, loading the bases on a Freeman single, a double from Miguel Rojas and a pinch-hit walk from Kyle Tucker. Muncy followed with a bases-clearing double down the right field line against John Schreiber for a 5-3 lead.
Kansas City responded immediately against Los Angeles left-hander Jack Dreyer. Michael Massey opened the seventh inning with a single, and Isbel hit a one- out home run to tie the score 5-5.
It was Isbel’s fourth home run of the season and first since April 22, ending a 41-game drought.
Dreyer (5-1) earned the win despite allowing two runs in one inning. Edwin Diaz pitched a perfect ninth inning for his sixth save.