Then they fired up some fossil fuel to win it, as veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman, who turns 35 in September, poked a two-out, run-scoring single to center field in the eighth inning to lift the Dodgers to a 4-3 victory in front of a crowd of 49,580.
Mookie Betts sparked the winning rally off Royals left-hander Will Smith with a one-out single to left field, and he took second on Smith’s errant pick-off throw to first.
Shohei Ohtani popped out to shortstop, but Freeman reached out for an 83-mph slider off the plate and lofted a single to center off his former Atlanta Braves teammate — the ball left his bat at 75.7 mph — to score Betts for a 4-3 lead.
Freeman felt like he underachieved for two months, with a .286 average and .842 on-base-plus-slugging percentage through the end of May, but he has lived up to his lofty standards in June, batting .357 (15 for 42) with three homers, three doubles and nine RBIs in 12 games to lift his season average to .297 and OPS to .892.
“Freddie knows how to get a hit,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Coming through in that spot, I know it was a big weight off his shoulders.”
Taylor, the seldom-used utility man who entered Friday with a .100 average, .307 OPS and 41 strikeouts in 103 plate appearances, can relate. With his first homer of the season, he felt like a few cinder blocks were removed from his shoulders.
Freddie Freeman drives in the go-ahead run on a single in the eighth inning against the Royals on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“Yeah, it’s been a while,” said Taylor, who hadn’t homered since last Sept. 7, a span of 165 plate appearances. “I think it was more of a relief than anything. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get to do that again.”
Royals starter Cole Ragans, whose five-pitch mix featured a fastball that averaged 96.2 mph and topped out at 98.3 mph, was nearly untouchable for four innings, giving up one single and striking out two, and Salvador Perez staked the left-hander to a 3-0 lead with a three-run homer in the top of the fourth.
But that lead disappeared in the span of four bottom-of-the-order batters in the fifth, a rally that rookie Andy Pages sparked with a one-out infield single.
Rojas got ahead with a 3-and-1 count and turned on a 94-mph fastball from Ragans, driving his third homer of the season — and 47th of his 11-year career — 390 feet to left field to pull the Dodgers to within 3-2.
“That was a big hit for us, kind of gave us some life,” Roberts said. “Ragans was throwing the ball so well that one moment, you’re thinking you might get no-hit, and the next thing you know, you’re back in the ballgame.”
Dodgers relief pitcher Alex Vesia reacts after earning a save to close out a 4-3 win over the Royals on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Kiké Hernández grounded back to the mound for the second out, but Taylor jumped on a 2-1 changeup, lining his homer into the left-center field pavilion to make it 3-3. It was only Taylor’s 10th hit and second extra-base hit of the season.
“I try to just take it day by day, but I definitely have my moments of frustration,” Taylor said of his season-long struggles. “It’s kind of weird, not being in there that often. Some days you’re feeling good and you don’t play. Then sometimes you’re not feeling good. I’m just trying to be consistent with my work and ready when the opportunity comes.”
Roberts, a former big-league outfielder, said he couldn’t imagine going through what Taylor has endured this season.
“For me, there would’ve been a lot of sleepless nights,” he said. “But he comes in every day ready to help us win, and that’s just sort of who he is. … He’s pretty much the same whether he’s going really well or scuffling.”
Taylor’s wife and young son, Theo, who was born last year, help keep things in perspective.
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1. Dodgers starting pitcher Gavin Stone delivers against the Royals in the first inning Friday. 2. Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages makes a sliding catch in the seventh inning. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 3. Chris Taylor runs the bases after hitting a solo home run off Royals pitcher Cole Ragans in the fifth inning.
“I don’t know how I would have handled this earlier in my career,” Taylor said. “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 of this. I’m very thankful that I have them.”
Stone, who entered with a 7-2 record and 2.93 ERA in 12 starts, blanked the Royals on one hit through three innings but ran into trouble in the fourth, Maikel Garcia leading off with a single to center, taking second on a Bobby Witt Jr. groundout and third on a wild pitch. Vinnie Pasquantino walked to put runners on first and third with one out.
Stone then hung an 88-mph first-pitch slider to Perez, who demolished the middle-of-the-plate offering for his 11th homer of the season, the ball leaving the veteran catcher’s bat at 113.3 mph and traveling 437 feet for a 3-0 lead.
“Yeah, no doubt, for sure,” Stone said, when asked if he wanted that pitch to Perez back. “But once it’s over, you can’t really do anything about it. You can only focus on the next hitter, and so just having that approach helps a lot.”
Stone escaped a first-and-third, two-out jam in the fifth by getting the dangerous Witt to fly out to center field, and he retired the side in order in the sixth and seventh innings to give the Dodgers a chance.
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1. Dodgers fans Denise, left, and Colleen Quinn-Allen enjoy Pride Night at Dodger Stadium before Friday’s game against the Kansas City Royals. 2. Dodgers fans dance to music during Pride Night at Dodger Stadium. 3. Dodgers fans enjoy Pride Night at Dodger Stadium. 4. Dodgers fans enjoy Pride Night. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
It marked the fourth time in nine starts that Stone, who gave up three runs and four hits, struck out three and walked two for a no-decision, completed seven innings.
“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,” Roberts said of Stone. “He saved the bullpen, which was a bit in limbo. It seems like he does that every time he takes the baseball, and he’s earned that trust.”