Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, second from left, hits a solo home run as Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer, left, and catcher Freddy Fermin, right, watch with home plate umpire Ryan Additon during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 16 2024 Los Angeles.
10:17 JST, June 17, 2024
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani had his second two-homer game this season, Tyler Glasnow pitched seven innings with three hits and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Kansas City Royals 3-0 on Sunday when Mookie Betts left in the seventh inning after a pitch broke a bone in his left hand.
Although the Dodgers won two of three in the series, it was a tough weekend as two of their star players will be sidelined for an extended period of time. Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto was placed on the 15-day injured list before the game due to a strained rotator cuff in his right shoulder.
Betts appeared in the clubhouse after the game and said he will see a hand specialist on Monday, which should help determine how long he will be out.
“It’s a big blow. I feel bad for Mookie because he’s having an MVP-type season,” manager Dave Roberts said of Betts’ injury.
Mookie Betts of Los Angeles Dodgers, left, writhes on the ground after being hit by a pitch as manager Dave Roberts and a trainer tend to him during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, June 16, 2024, in Los Angeles .
Freddie Freeman also went deep for the Dodgers.
Bobby Witt Jr., who leads the Majors with a .327 batting average, had one of Kansas City’s three hits. The shortstop has hit safely in 26 of 28 games since May 17.
Betts was hit in the left hand by a 90-mph fastball from Dan Altavilla. The throw struck Betts on the top of the hand, near the wrist. Betts fell to the ground and writhed in pain in the batter’s box as trainers and Roberts came out to tend to him.
‘You should just stay there. You can’t be afraid, you know, staying there, especially with a guy who has a pretty good slider,” Betts said. “Just a little up and down. I stood my ground. Unfortunately it hit me in the hand.”
Betts’ injury dampened the standout efforts of Ohtani and Glasnow.
Ohtani entered the game in June hitting just .219 with most of his contact coming on ground balls. During at least one match he managed to turn that around.
The Japanese superstar drove a sinker by Brady Singer (4-4) 400 feet over the center field wall with one out in the third inning.
“It’s a very good sign that I can hit the ball that far in that direction,” Ohtani said through his interpreter.
Ohtani then got his 18th career multihomer game when he connected on a first-pitch slider from Singer and put it over the right field wall. It was also his 19th home run of the season, which is fourth in the Majors.
“If he does things the right way, gets his pitches and uses the big part of the field, that’s pretty special,” Roberts said. “Even that second home run on a secondary pitch, when he hits it like that instead of fouling it or hitting it on the ground, shows how he’s seeing the ball better.”
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, left, hits a solo home run as Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Chris Stratton looks on during the sixth inning of a baseball game on Sunday, June 16, 2024, in Los Angeles.
Freeman followed three pitches later with a solo shot to right-center. This is the third time this season that Ohtani and Freeman have gone back-to-back.
Glasnow (7-5) struck out nine and leads the majors with 125 strikeouts as he picked up his first win since May 4. Evan Phillips came on for his 10th save in the ninth.
“I knew I had to be efficient. I’m glad I was able to keep the pitch count down and get through seven innings,” Glasnow said. “I was trying to move forward and mix my pitches more. Don’t rely so heavily on the fastball.
It is the fifth time in Singer’s career and the first time this season that he has allowed at least three home runs in a game. The righthander allowed five hits and three runs in six innings with four strikeouts.
“He was able to force contact early on. He trusted his stuff through some good sliders,” manager Matt Quatraro said of Singer. “It looked like maybe they were sitting on the homers.”
