Ohtani crushes 29th homer as Dodgers power past Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Los Angeles Dodgers have won five straight games and 11 of their last 14, defeating the Kansas City Royals, who have lost six consecutive games, 5-4 on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.

Shohei Ohtani wasted no time, launching a 78 mph changeup from left-hander Noah Cameron for his eighth leadoff home run and 29th of the season. Ohtani has been on fire lately; during the Dodgers' five-game winning streak, he has safely reached base in all five games, hitting four home runs and driving in nine runs.

Since 1901, only four players have recorded at least 29 home runs and seven triples in the first half of the season. These players are Babe Ruth in 1921, Lou Gehrig in 1927, Jimmie Foxx in 1932, and Shohei Ohtani in 2025.

Max Muncy has been on a remarkable streak, hitting a two-run home run in the second inning, which gave the Dodgers a 3-1 lead. In his last four games, he has amassed six hits, four home runs, and 13 runs batted in, despite not playing on Thursday against the Rockies. Muncy has now tied Matt Kemp for seventh place in Dodgers history with 203 home runs. Steve Garvey ranks third with 211 home runs, Ron Cey is second with 228, and Eric Karros holds the record in first place with 270.

Right-hander Dustin May started his 15th game of the season, keeping the Dodgers competitive by pitching four innings. He allowed six hits and four earned runs, while also walking three batters and striking out three, using 84 pitches in total. This season, May has given up 12 home runs, making him the Dodgers' leader in that statistic. Recently, his control and command have been lacking, as he has issued 15 walks and allowed 17 runs over five starts in June.

The Dodgers' offense supported May by scoring two additional runs in the fifth inning. Kike Hernandez led off the inning with a walk, followed by Shohei Ohtani hitting a game-tying triple into the gap in right field. Mookie Betts, who has struggled lately, then delivered the go-ahead RBI single off right-hander Steven Cruz.

Cruz came in to relieve Cameron after a leadoff walk to Hernandez. Cameron pitched four and a third innings, allowing three hits and five runs while striking out four on 84 pitches. It took Cameron four pitches to fall behind after giving up a leadoff home run to Ohtani, but his team backed him up for a few innings. Salvador Perez started at first base and contributed a game-tying RBI single in the first inning. After the Dodgers took the lead with Muncy’s home run, Kyle Isbel hit an RBI double, followed by Bobby Witt Jr. hitting his 11th home run of the season, which raised his batting average to .277.

The Dodgers’ bullpen performed well for the remainder of the game, not allowing any runs. Righthander Luis Garcia pitched one inning, and Lou Trivino (3-0, 4.06 ERA) contributed by pitching 1 ½ innings to earn the win. Manager Dave Roberts then brought in three consecutive left-handers. Anthony Banda entered to secure the final out of the seventh inning with runners on first and second and struck out Jac Caglianone to end the inning. 

Alex Vesia followed with a perfect eighth inning. In a challenging ninth inning, Tanner Scott secured his 18th save of the season despite having runners on first and second with one out. Caglianone became the last out of the game, grounding into a game-ending double play, assisted by Freddie Freeman's excellent scoop.

In the last seven games, Freeman has struggled at the plate, going 2-for-28, which has dropped his batting average to .305 this season. He has hit nine home runs and driven in 42 runs. Despite Freeman’s difficulties, the Dodgers have still managed to win games, largely due to the impressive performance of Andy Pages. Pages is leading the team with 54 runs batted in and has delivered some incredible bat flips.

The Dodgers will aim for their sixth consecutive win on Saturday afternoon, with Ohtani making his third start of the season and potentially being extended to pitch more than one inning. The Royals will respond with right-hander Seth Lugo (4-5, 2.93 ERA) as they try to snap their six-game losing streak.