Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run homer, Eric Lauer pitched into the seventh inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers finished off a three-game sweep of the visiting Kansas City Royals with a 4-2 victory on Wednesday.
Mookie Betts and Hunter Feduccia added home runs as the Dodgers swept a series for the first time since June 22-24 at Minnesota. Los Angeles entered the matchup with Kansas City having lost eight of its previous nine games.
Lauer (7-6) gave up two runs, one earned, on four hits over 6 1/3 innings with two walks and six strikeouts on a season-high 112 pitches. It was the most pitches in an outing for a Dodgers pitcher this season.
Josh Rojas and Salvador Perez each drove in a run for the Royals, who saw their losing streak reach four games while falling to 1-6 since Aug. 6.
In the second start of his return to the rotation, Kansas City left-hander Daniel Lynch IV (4-4) gave up three runs on three hits over 2 1/3 innings. He struck out three, walked none and threw a season-high 39 pitches.
The Royals took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Rojas’ RBI single before Betts tied it in the bottom of the frame on his second home run in two games and his 15th of the season.
Perez put Kansas City back on top 2-1 in the third on his run-scoring single before Los Angeles made another quick response. Ohtani socked his two-run home run in the bottom of the inning as the Dodgers took the lead for good. Ohtani’s 27th long ball of the year marked the end of the night for Lynch.
Feduccia, who was reacquired by the Dodgers at the trade deadline, hit his home run leading off the fifth for a 4-2 lead.
Los Angeles received a scare in the eighth inning when first baseman Freddie Freeman fell into the Kansas City dugout while chasing a foul ball and landed on his side. He finished the half-inning but departed for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth.
Dodgers right-hander Landon Knack, who was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City earlier Wednesday, recorded the final eight outs for his first save of the season.