Dodgers come from behind late, outlast Royals in Skubal home debut
The last two weeks of baseball have not been kind to the Dodgers. After losing eight of their last nine games (which included getting swept by the Red Sox and Cubs, and a series loss to the Diamondbacks), the Dodgers have been trying so desperately to get back to playing their brand of baseball.
After returning home from a dreadful road trip, the Dodgers turned the ball over to Tarik Skubal, the prized piece of the trade deadline, who was acquired in hopes of helping Los Angeles make another championship run. The reigning back to back Cy Young Award winner made his Dodger debut in Chicago, where he took the loss after allowing two runs in six innings of work. But with the Dodgers desperate for a win, they hoped their new acquisition could get the ball rolling in front of his new home crowd.
Skubal struggled with putting hitters away in his Dodger Stadium debut, as the Royals’ lineup consistently battled and drove his pitch count up early. And although it wasn’t the textbook Skubal-esque dominant outing that baseball fans are accustomed to, Skubal did a good enough job to keep the Dodgers’ lineup in it, after allowing three runs in five innings in his home debut.
“I thought I competed well [enough] to give our team a chance to win,” said Skubal. “But I’ll be better moving forward.”
The Dodgers still trailed 3-2 after Skubal’s exit, but a 6th inning rally, capped off with a bases-clearing double by Max Muncy (on his bobblehead night), gave the Dodgers a 5-3 lead; their first lead of the night.
A lead that didn’t last half an inning, after Jack Dreyer gave up a two-run home run in the 7th. More or less a perfect example of how things have gone for Los Angeles in the last two weeks.
But the Dodgers kept on battling, and a Shohei Ohtani steal of second base in the 7th set the table for Freddie Freeman (whose single to right field gave the Dodgers a late 6-5 lead and eventual win). For Freeman, those opportunities are something he looks forward to.
“I love those situations,” said Freeman. “More times than not you’ll probably fail, but tonight [I] was able to come through.”
A much-needed win for a Dodgers team that has seen more struggle than success as of late. Manager Dave Roberts discussed the importance of creating “urgency” in order to help his club begin the process of ending their current skid.
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