The Los Angeles Dodgers had about as bad of a game as possible in a 7-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals.
Things started out poorly as Yoshinobu Yamamoto left the game after just two innings with an injury, and things went down hill from there. Michael Grove replaced him and pitched a scoreless third inning, but allowed the Royals to take the lead in the fourth.
A single, double and ground out put the Royals up 1-0, but their lead didn’t last long.
Gavin Lux gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead on a two-out, bases loaded single, allowing Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages to score. But that was about the only positive of their night.
Blake Treinen took over in the sixth inning, but didn’t have his best stuff. He walked the bases loaded, which drew a mound meeting from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
Treinen came back to strike out Frazier for the second out, but with Anthony Banda warming, Roberts opted to leave his right-hander in to face the left-handed hitting MJ Melendez.
The two locked into a battle, taking the count to 3-2 on 11 pitches with seven foul balls, including a run of six straight. On the 12th pitch of the at-bat, Melendez unloaded on a 93 mph cutter over the heart of the plate for a grand slam, putting the Royals ahead 5-2.
Anthony Banda came on in relief and got out of the inning, but he allowed two more runs in the seventh, giving the Royals seven runs for the game.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto leaves game with injury
The Dodgers pushed Yamamoto back two days to start Saturday’s game, providing him with extra rest after throwing a season-high 106 pitches. But that ultimately didn’t matter as he exited the game anyways.
The Dodgers announced Yamamoto’s early exit was due to right triceps tightness.
Yamamoto did not show any overt signs of injury but his final pitch was 92.9 mph, the slowest of the night.
The SportsNet LA broadcast showed Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior quickly emerging in the dugout to speak with Roberts and trainer Yosuke “Possum” Nakajima. Roberts appeared to shout an expletive once Prior caught his attention.
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