For the Kansas City Royals, Saturday night's game at Dodger Stadium offers a reset opportunity following a disheartening result on Friday. In the series opener, the Dodgers overcame a 3-0 deficit despite strong pitching from Cole Ragans in the early going and won 4-3. For these two 40-plus win teams, Saturday's pre-Father's Day tilt is a pivotal interleague contest.
Los Angeles (43-28) is meeting the occasion with marquee free agent acquisition Yoshinobu Yamamoto. If it weren't for Shohei Ohtani, the 25-year-old Yamamoto would have been the crown jewel of the Dodgers' free agent class this past offseason, being awarded the richest deal in Major League Baseball for a pitcher at $325 million for 12 years. He enters Saturday's start with a 6-2 record, 83 strikeouts and an even 3.00 earned run average.
The Royals (40-31) are trotting out former Mets and Padres pitcher Seth Lugo, who to date is a sterling 9-2 with a 2.36 ERA. Once a standout reliever, Lugo joined the Royals in the 2023-24 offseason and has since put up frontline numbers for one of the American League's resurgent teams.
Notably, Salvador Perez is not in the lineup at catcher for the Royals. It will be Freddy Fermin instead for the visitors, as Perez left Friday's game with knee discomfort. New Dodger Cavan Biggio gets the start at the hot corner for Los Angeles and bats seventh.
Live Updates (most recent at top):
Bottom 9:
- Barnes flies out. The Royals even the series. FINAL: Royals 7, Dodgers 2.
- Lux strikes out swinging. Two gone.
- Biggio lines out. One away.
- Nick Anderson is in to finish the game off for the Royals on the mound.
Top 9:
- Pasquantino grounds into an inning-ending double play. Last call for Los Angeles. Royals 7, Dodgers 2.
- Witt Jr. gets aboard with a one-out single.
- Garcia flies out to Pages.
- Former Royals starter Ryan Yarbrough is now on the bump for the Dodgers.
Bottom 8:
- Miguel Rojas in to pinch hit. He grounds out to end the inning, and Los Angeles is down to its last three offensive outs. Royals 7, Dodgers 2.
- Pages grounds out. Two away.
- Hernandez strikes out swinging.
Top 8:
- Hampson flies out to end a quick inning. Royals 7, Dodgers 2.
- Blanco goes down swinging, and there are two away.
- Melendez grounds out.
Bottom 7:
- Freeman flies out. Inning over. Royals 7, Dodgers 2.
- Ohtani walks. Two on.
- Sam Long is in to pitch for Kansas City.
- Betts draws a two-out walk.
- Barnes strikes out swinging.
- Lux starts the frame with a lineout to Hampson.
- John Schreiber is now pitching for the Royals.
Top 7:
- Frazier lines out, but the visitors plate two more runs. Royals 7, Dodgers 2.
- Freddy Fermin is intentionally walked.
- Velazquez hits a sac fly that scores Garcia. Royals get another. Kansas City 7, Los Angeles 2.
- Pasquantino strikes out swinging. One down. Meanwhile, the runners execute a double steal and are on second and third.
- Witt Jr., who entered the at-bat 0-3, swings at the first pitch and singles home Hampson. Royals 6, Dodgers 2.
- Garcia walks. Runners on the corners.
- Hampson starts off the late innings with a triple.
Bottom 6:
- Biggio strikes out looking to end the inning, and that'll likely be it for Lugo. A great start for him, and he's in line for the win as of now. Royals 5, Dodgers 2.
- Heyward grounds out and there are two away, but Pages is now on third.
- Pages gets into scoring position with a one-out double.
- Hernandez flies out.
- Adam Frazier will now play second base.
Top 6:
- Banda gets Blanco to line out and end the frame, but it comes one batter too late. Royals load the bases and cash in. Kansas City 5, Los Angeles 2.
- Anthony Banda replaces Treinen on the hill.
- Melendez gets to Treinen on the 12th pitch of a marathon at-bat, hitting a grand slam to right field. The mess was of Treinen's own doing, as the bases were loaded via three walks. Royals 5, Dodgers 2.
- Frazier strikes out swinging on three pitches.
- Adam Frazier is in pinch-hitting for Loftin.
- Fermin takes ball four, and the bases are loaded with one out. All via bases on balls. A major opportunity taking shape here for Kansas City.
- Velazquez walks. Two consecutive free passes issued by Treinen.
- Pasquantino walks. He's been on base three times in this game.
- Witt Jr. flies out to begin the inning.
- Blake Treinen is pitching for Los Angeles.
Bottom 5:
- Freeman grounds out. Clean inning for Lugo. Dodgers 2, Royals 1.
- Ohtani grounds out on a payoff. Two down.
- Betts starts the frame with a groundout on a three-ball count.
Top 5:
- Garcia strikes out looking on a payoff pitch after a seven-pitch plate appearance. Dodgers 2, Royals 1.
- Hampson grounds out on a 3-2 count in an eight-pitch at-bat. Top of the order due up now.
- Blanco grounds out to short for the first out.
- Yohan Ramirez is now on the mound for the Dodgers.
Bottom 4:
- Barnes strikes out looking, bringing an end to Lugo's first major trouble spot with two runners left stranded. Los Angeles nabs the lead, though. Dodgers 2, Royals 1.
- Gavin Lux swings at the first pitch and gets a single out of it. Two runs score, and the Dodgers take the lead. Runners on first and third. Dodgers 2, Royals 1.
- Lugo keeps the ball out of play for the second out, putting up a backwards K on Cavan Biggio. Two gone. The Kansas City starter now doesn't need a double play to escape this bases-loaded jam.
- Heyward is hit by a pitch to load the bases. Still only one out.
- Pages grounds into a fielder's choice. Freeman moves up 90 feet to third, while Pages reaches, and Hernandez is thrown out. One gone with runners on the corners.
- Teoscar Hernandez singles. Freeman does not advance, but now there are two runners on with nobody out.
- Freddie Freeman hits his 20th double of the season. In three of four innings tonight, the Dodgers have gotten the lead runner aboard.
Top 4:
- Melendez strikes out swinging. Grove limits the damage, stranding the runner on third. Royals 1, Dodgers 0.
- Loftin grounds out, but Pasquantino scores the first run of the ball game. Runner on third with two away.
- Freddy Fermin doubles. First Royals extra-base hit. Runners on second and third with one out.
- Triceps tightness is the early word on Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
- Velazquez lines out. One out.
- Pasquantino leads it off with a single. First leadoff baserunner of the night for Kansas City.
Bottom 3:
- Ohtani grounds out. A quick inning for Lugo. No score on either side one-third of the way through the regulation innings.
- Betts flies out to Hampson. Ohtani next.
- Barnes lines out to short. Easy first out for Witt Jr.
Top 3:
- Witt Jr. goes out looking to end the frame. Three up, three down for Grove in his first inning of work. Dodgers may need him to eat a few innings here, even though this is not the series opener.
- Garcia strikes out swinging. First K in the books for Grove. Two outs.
- Garrett Hampson grounds out. One away.
- Michael Grove is now pitching for the Dodgers. Yamamoto seems to have been in some sort of discomfort, and Grove had been warming up earlier in the game. If No. 18 is seriously hurt, this is an awful development for the Dodgers.
Bottom 2:
- Lux lines out, ending the early Dodger threat. Through two in Los Angeles, and still no score.
- Biggio is called out on strikes on a payoff pitch that could've gone either way. Big second out for Seth Lugo.
- Jason Heyward walks, bringing up the bottom third of the order with two on.
- Andy Pages flies out to Blanco. One on, one gone.
- Teoscar Hernandez leads off the home second with a hard-hit single to center.
Top 2:
- Dairon Blanco makes the first strikeout for either side on a foul tip into Austin Barnes' mitt, stranding Melendez. Still no score.
- MJ Melendez gets the Royals' first hit of the night with a two-out single.
- Fermin and Nick Loftin each record fly-ball outs to start off the frame.
Bottom 1:
- Freddie Freeman grounds out to end the inning. No score on either side through one full.
- Shohei Ohtani grounds into a 4-6-3 double play. Pitcher's best friend. Two away just like that.
- Mookie Betts reaches for a leadoff single, hit in the direction of his counterpart Witt Jr.
Top 1:
- Nelson Velazquez grounds one to Cavan Biggio, who goes the short way to second and retires the side. No score through half an inning.
- Vinnie Pasquantino works an early walk, and Kansas City has its first baserunner.
- Bobby Witt Jr. flies out. Two down.
- Maikel Garcia opens the game with a groundout to Biggio, who makes the play for the first out.
Pregame:
- Kansas City lineup: 1. Maike; Garcia, third base; 2. Bobby Witt Jr., shortstop, 3. Vinnie Pasquantino, third base; 4. Nelson Velazquez, designated hitter; 5. Freddy Fermin, catcher; 6. Nick Loftin, second base; 7. MJ Melendez, shortstop; 8. Dairon Blanco, left field; 9. Garrett Hampson, center field; P: Seth Lugo (R)
- Los Angeles lineup: 1. Mookie Betts, shortstop; 2. Shohei Ohtani, designated hitter; 3. Freddie Freeman, first base; 4. Teoscar Hernandez, left field; 5. Andy Pages, left field; 6. Jason Heyward, right field; 7. Cavan Biggio, third base; 8. Gavin Lux, second base; 9. Austin Barnes, catcher; P: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (R)
