KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dave Roberts has a excessive bar for his $400 million baseball workforce.
Positive, the Dodgers entered Friday winners of 13 of their 17, tied for the very best general report in baseball and main the Nationwide League West by six video games.
Positive, they have already got one assured All-Star in Shohei Ohtani, and 7 different finalists who superior to the second stage of fan voting that may start subsequent week.
However, within the eyes of their supervisor, “I still just don’t believe we’re playing our best baseball,” Roberts mentioned Friday afternoon. “I don’t think we’ve played complete baseball for a stretch.”
On Friday night time, the Dodgers nonetheless weren’t at their greatest. Dustin Could managed simply 4 innings in a four-run begin. The lineup produced solely 4 whole hits. Teoscar Hernández made a defensive blunder within the outfield. And the bullpen danced out and in of bother down the stretch.
However proper now, amid this tender portion of the workforce’s schedule, flawed performances have typically nonetheless been sufficient.
And in Friday’s 5-4 win over the badly slumping Kansas Metropolis Royals, that after once more proved to be the case.
Shohei Ohtani hits a house run within the first inning towards the Royals on Friday.
(Charlie Riedel / Related Press)
For all of the Dodgers’ shortcomings, they did simply sufficient to compensate in a collection opener at Kauffman Stadium.
Could gave up a run within the first after letting three straight batters attain with two outs, however not earlier than Ohtani opened the scoring with a leadoff blast.
Hernández let a hard-hit however catchable line drive recover from his head in proper subject within the third, fueling a three-run Royals rally that was punctuated by Bobby Witt Jr.’s two-run blast. However that was sandwiched by a two-run homer from Max Muncy within the second, and a game-tying triple from Ohtani within the fifth.
Mookie Betts finally put the Dodgers in entrance one at bat after Ohtani’s triple, singling him residence to offer the Dodgers a 5-4 lead.
And although Could’s excessive pitch depend pressured him to exit early towards the Royals (38-44), a worn-down Dodgers bullpen patched collectively 5 scoreless frames, escaping their largest jam within the ninth when nearer Tanner Scott induced a game-ending double play with the bases loaded.
It wasn’t fairly, however it was nonetheless sufficient to maneuver the Dodgers into sole possession of the very best report within the majors at 52-31.
That prolonged stretch of dominance remains to be eluding them. However for now, they’re discovering methods to win anyway.
