Dodgers muster just enough to beat Royals, salvaging Tarik Skubal's Dodger Stadium debut

This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred

Tarik Skubal never located his best stuff Monday, missing the strike zone with his fastball far more frequently than usual.

The Dodgers found their way out of their recent downward spiral, though, and that was enough of a relief for their new ace and back-to-back Cy Young winner. Skubal pitched five innings, giving up four hits and three runs. He struck out six.

“I kind of sprayed the ball a little bit,” Skubal said after a 6-5 win over Kansas City in his Dodger Stadium debut. “That’s kind of unusual for me, especially with my command, but I thought I competed well and gave our team a chance to win.”

That was a welcome change for the down-on-their-luck Dodgers, who entered having lost eight of nine, including sweeps by the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs. The Dodgers had lost seven in a row before finally winning Saturday at Arizona, then promptly resumed the slide Sunday with a loss to the Diamondbacks.

The Japanese travel agency JTB, which sells tour packages to Japanese fans eager to see the Dodgers in person, launched a shuttle service to Dodger Stadium, with a bilingual guide.

So it’s hard to know whether Monday’s win marked a turnaround or simply another tourniquet to pause the bleeding. Tuesday, it’s Blake Snell’s turn. He underwent surgery on his left elbow and hasn’t pitched for the Dodgers since May 9.

The Dodgers (71-48) are hoping for an encore performance at the plate, where Monday there were some familiar flickers of life. Freddie Freeman had three of their 10 hits, driving in two runs. Shohei Ohtani had two hits and scored twice. And Max Muncy — on his bobblehead night — had a bases-loaded double that gave the Dodgers a 5-3 lead in the sixth and ignited the antsy crowd.

That good feeling didn’t last long, as the Royals (49-71) forged a 5-5 tie in the seventh with a two-run homer.

The Dodgers pulled ahead for good in the seventh after Ohtani singled, then stole second, and Freeman brought him home with a single to right.

“I thought we fought well,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Tarik didn’t have his best stuff. You could see his fastball command wasn’t there. But he didn’t buckle.”

From the offense, Roberts said, “I saw that urgency tonight which we’ve got to build on from here on out.”

Urgency? The guy who had the winning hit probably wouldn’t choose that word.

“There’s going to be no panic out of this clubhouse,” Freeman said. “I understand what Doc’s saying [but] baseball’s a little different. I can’t go out there and swing harder and throw harder. That’s just not how it works.”

Source: Read the original article on www.latimes.com