Kansas City Royals get big production from unlikely source, hammer L.A. Dodgers 9-1
.jpg "Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia enjoyed a career day against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.")
It’s no secret the Royals have had their struggles this season, but they’ve thrived in one particular subset of games.
With Sunday’s 9-1 win over the Dodgers at Kauffman Stadium, the Royals are 4-2 against National League teams from Southern California.
The Royals, who are 25-59 overall, won two of three against the big-spending Dodgers this weekend. It’s the Royals’ first series win since May 15-17 against the Padres in San Diego.
“That was incredible,” starting pitcher Brady Singer said of the series win. “Obviously, it’s the Dodgers, a really, really good baseball team. I think the whole series, everything was working. I mean, you saw the offense today, I think, even towards the bottom of the lineup, they were incredible the whole day.
“I mean, the whole series, the defense was really, really good the whole time. That was one of my favorite series to win. That was really cool.”
That snapped a streak of 12 consecutive winless series for the Royals (0-10-2), and Sunday’s win was fueled by an unlikely source: the bottom of the lineup.
Bottoms up
Entering Sunday’s game, Royals batters in the 7-8-9 spots had hit .222 with a .282 on-base percentage and 84 RBIs in 83 games this year.
Against the Dodgers, they were a combined 6 for 12 with two walks, six runs scored and five RBIs on Sunday.
- Right fielder Drew Waters, batting seventh, reached base four times, scored three runs and had an RBI.
- The No. 8 hitter, center fielder Kyle Isbel, had two hits, scored twice and walked once.
- Second baseman Nicky Lopez tied a career high with four RBIs on two hits and scored a run while batting ninth.
“Anytime the bottom (of the order) can be productive and produce runs, that’s what we’re kind of looking for,” Waters said. “You kind of get to this level and you’d say most guys are used to hitting at the top of the lineup in the minor leagues or college or wherever.
“But when you get to the big leagues, honestly, I know I don’t personally care, but as long as you’re in the lineup and you have the opportunity to help produce, that’s what you’re really looking for.”
The score was tied 1-1 in the fourth inning when Waters walked and moved to third on Isbel’s single. Lopez hit a ball through the hole on the right side and hustled to second for a double.
Isbel never stopped running either and scored from first as the Royals took a 3-1 lead. And then they never let the Dodgers back in the game.
“The one play that really stood out to me was (when) I was on ... third and I had scored, but Izzy was on first as the trail runner and he ended up scoring on Nicky’s single down the line,” Waters said. “So seeing that, that was impressive. I was impressed not only with Vance (Wilson, third-base coach) seeing that but also with Izzy for not stopping.”
That’s not to say the top of the order didn’t produce. Third baseman Maikel Garcia, who was batting leadoff, had a career-high four hits.
“I was really feel excited,” Garcia said, “but I was happy that the team, we got the win.”
Catcher Salvador Perez was 1-for-4 Sunday as KC’s designated hitter against the Dodgers. After the game, Perez was named the Royals’ representative for next week’s All-Star Game in Seattle.
Miss previous games of the series?
Game 1: Mookie Betts hits two homers as Royals fall 9-3 to Dodgers
Game 2: Royals ride big first inning to Saturday victory over L.A.
Here are more notables from Sunday’s game:
Singer was humming
Singer allowed just one run on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
The Dodgers had more than one baserunner in just one inning. That came in the fourth, when L.A. scored its lone run.
“Towards the end game was kind of what I’m happy with,” Singer said. “I saw the sinker come a lot more towards the end, had a lot better movement on it, and I think the slider was a game-changer today.”
Singer has a 3.12 ERA over his last seven starts, allowing 38 hits in 40 1/3 innings pitched.
Injury report
Outfielder Matt Beaty was at Kauffman Stadium on Sunday, throwing before the game.
Beaty suffered a concussion in a collision with KC second baseman Samad Taylor during a game last month in Detroit.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Beaty is no longer having headaches and would be heading to Arizona. He’ll be “ramping back up into baseball activity and then getting in some games,” Quatraro said.
Best in June
Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. won the Royals’ player of the month award. He had 28 hits and 12 RBIs in June. Starter Daniel Lynch was KC’s pitcher of the month after throwing 31 innings.
What’s next: The Royals open a three-game series at the Minnesota Twins on Monday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
This story was originally published July 2, 2023 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Kansas City Royals get big production from unlikely source, hammer L.A. Dodgers 9-1."
