Whether good pitching or good fortune, Jason Hammel and Kenta Maeda each managed to navigate their way through some traffic through the first three innings Friday night. The Kansas City Royals were first to score but fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-1.
The win was the Dodgers’ fourth in a row, kept them a half-game back of the Houston Astros for the best record in the Majors, and snapped the Royals’ four-game winning streak. Kenta Maeda only went five innings, allowing one run on four hits, while issuing two walks and collecting five strikeouts.
He threw 86 pitches and was particularly efficient early. The Royals didn’t scratch until a Mike Moustakas’ two-out double in the fourth inning was followed by an Alcides Escobar RBI single.
Maeda wound up helping his cause with a two-out single in the bottom of the fourth that moved Chase Utley into scoring position. Logan Forsythe shot an RBI base hit to right field, and Corey Seager’s pulled a rocket into right to score Maeda.
Maeda stranded a leadoff double in the fifth, and was backed by Josh Fields, Brock Stewart and Kenley Jansen, who combined to throw four shutout innings. Stewart went two innings to add to what’s been an impressive showing with the Dodgers this season.
Including Friday, he’s appeared in four games and gone at least two innings in each appearance without allowing a run.
Hammel had an effective slider for much of the night, which played a role in him matching a season high with seven strikeouts. The veteran right-hander was also hurt by the pitch, however, as he missed the location and surrendered a solo home run to Yasiel Puig in the sixth inning.
The home run was Puig’s 16th this year, which matches his total from an All-Star 2014 season. Puig hit a career-high 19 home runs as a rookie in 2013.
The Dodgers’ last bit of scoring came on a Chase Utley double in the bottom of the eighth, giving him 1,000 career RBI. Utley became the ninth active player to reach the milestone.
