Daniel Lynch battles, but bullpen blows up in 8-3 loss to Dodgers

Daniel Lynch battled over five shutout innings, giving up just two hits with four walks, but it was the bullpen that gave up all the runs in an 8-3 loss to the Dodgers Friday night.

Lynch faced just three hitters over the minimum over the first four innings of the game, but ran into some trouble in the fifth. Hanser Alberto reached base on an error, and Trayce Thompson doubled him to third. Mookie Betts walked to load the bases to set up the heart of the order with no outs. But Lynch showed some moxie, getting Trea Turner to foul out and striking out Freddie Freeman. He got Will Smith to fly out to end the threat with no runs scoring, displaying his raw emotion as he walked off the mound.

It would be a bad night for Josh Staumont, who has struggled for two months now. Pinch-hitter Gavin Lux and Thompson led off with singles, and Betts walked to load the bases again. But Staumont would not be able to wriggle his way out of the jam as Lynch did, instead giving up a two-run single to Trea Turner, and an RBI double to Freeman. Luke Weaver would come in and allow the two runners to score, making it 5-0 Dodgers. Staumont has now given up 14 runs in 10 ²⁄₃ inning since June 14.

The Royals finally would not get their first baserunner against Dodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin until the sixth when MJ Melendez drew a walk. In the seventh, Vinnie Pasquantino finally broke up the no-hit bid with a single, and he came around to score on Michael A. Taylor’s double.

But the Dodgers broke things open in the eighth inning when Trayce Thompson collected his third hit of the night - a three-run blast to make it 8-1. The Dodgers are spending over a quarter-billion dollars in player payroll, and it’s the guy that signed a minor league deal this year that killed the Royals.

Salvy did provide more offense in the eighth with a two-run home run, his 17th of the year. But it wouldn’t be enough as the Royals fell 8-3 to the Dodgers for the sixth straight time they have faced them.

The Royals fall to 47-67 and will take on the Dodgers again tomorrow night at 6:10 CT with Brad Keller scheduled to face lefty Andrew Heaney.