KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the second time in two games, the Royals escaped ultimate baseball danger. They didn’t allow a run after the opponent loaded the bases with no outs.
But when the same situation was presented two innings later on Friday at the same spot in the lineup, the Royals were doomed.
Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman made the Royals pay with RBI hits to kick-start the Dodgers to an 8-3 victory at Kauffman Stadium.
The outcome kept the Dodgers soaring with an 11th straight victory and baseball-best 78-33 record. The Royals, winners of six of eight on this homestand before Friday, fell to 47-67.
The Royals were pumped walking off the field in the fifth because of Daniel Lynch’s effort. He had just pulled off the Houdini act, getting a pop up, strikeout and fly out after loading the bases.
Lynch let out a scream and pumped his fist leaving the mound as the clutch performance kept the game scoreless.
A day earlier, Zack Greinke accomplished the same feat against the White Sox, and the Royals went on to the victory.
That didn’t happen Friday, because the Dodgers, playing the same bases-loaded hand in the seventh, didn’t miss against reliever Josh Staumont.
Turner singled through the left side to score two, and Freeman followed with a run-scoring double. Staumont’s night was over, but the Dodgers didn’t stop until they had pushed across five.
Trayce Thompson ended any doubt of the outcome with a three-run homer in the eighth.
Lynch kept the Dodgers off the board but had had scuffled, walking four. Only 60 of his 105 pitches found the strike zone. He hadn’t issued a free pass in his previous two starts. The Royals were fortunate to be in a scoreless game because Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin was cruising.
The National League All-Star starter didn’t allow a hit until Vinnie Pasquantino’s one out single in the seventh. Michael A. Taylor’s RBI double prevented the shutout. Gonsolin, who improved to 14-1, set down the first 16 Royals until Kyle Isbel walked in the sixth.
Salvador Perez provided an eighth-inning cheer with his 17th home run of the season, a two-run shot that landed in the second row of seats in left center. The Royals, who entered the game averaging 6.9 runs on the homestand, finished with four hits.
