Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers (72-48) won another tight game over the Royals last night with a 6-5 extra inning win. Blake Snell returned off the IL and looked fantastic, allowing three hits, one walk and a run over six innings with 10 strikeouts. The offense struggled early but gave the Dodgers a 3-1 lead in the seventh, which set up another rough inning for the Dodger bullpen. Evan Phillips gave up a walk and three singles to tie the game, and Jack Dreyer got a lineout that Andy Pages tried to do a bit too much with and turned into a sac fly scoring a runner from second base. Mookie Betts tied it with an RBI single, and Max Muncy walked it off after two intentional walks loaded the bases in extras. The Dodgers should probably be winning a bit more commandingly against the team with the fourth-worst record in baseball, but wins are wins and now the Dodgers have a chance for a sweep heading into a big four-game set with Milwaukee.
Tonight's #Dodgers lineup vs. Royals: pic.twitter.com/jV8HEVveSK
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 12, 2026
Series finale starters. pic.twitter.com/ZkztHoz0cE
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 12, 2026
Eric Lauer gets the ball looking to bounce back for the first time as a Dodger. Lauer had a 2.96 ERA over his first nine Dodger appearances and never allowed more than three runs in a game, and the Dodgers won each of those games. He took that hot streak to Wrigley last week and it couldn’t have been a worse matchup, throwing a fly-ball-heavy pitcher into a windy Wrigley game. It went about as expected as he allowed 11 hits and six runs over four innings. The Dodgers did make the game annoyingly close at the end, losing 7-6 to finish off their second consecutive series getting swept. Today, Lauer gets to play the opposite role in looking to pitch the Dodgers to a sweep.
Daniel Lynch IV makes his second start of the season and 48th appearance altogether. Lynch started his career as a starter, making 51 starts his first three seasons. He did struggle as a starter with a 5.18 ERA in those three seasons and was moved to a bullpen/bulk type of role, where he’s excelled in the last three seasons. Lynch appeared in 73 games and made five starts in 2024-2025 and he posted a 3.16 ERA in those 111 innings, and he’s been even better so far this season. He has a 2.45 ERA in 47 2/3 innings this season almost exclusively as a reliever. He’s only completed two innings twice this season and has a 1.96 ERA as a reliever, but he started against the Cubs last week and it went quite poorly. Lynch gave up three earned runs (and one unearned) in 1 2/3 innings on Friday and threw 35 pitches, the second-most he’s thrown in an outing this season. He’s maxed out at 37 this season and got up to 40 twice last season. This might not specifically be a bullpen game as the Royals said they’d be moving him back into the rotation, but he probably isn’t built up to go super deep.
Tommy Edman gets a rare day off against a lefty with Max Muncy and Kyle Tucker both starting. Miguel Rojas gets the start at second.
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Landon Knack is back, as the Dodgers optioned Seth Halvorsen.
Dodgers recalled RHP Landon Knack and optioned RHP Seth Halvorsen, the team announced.
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) August 12, 2026
Halvorsen made his Dodger debut last night and looked impressive in the 10th, stranding the Manfred runner at third to set the Dodgers up for the walkoff. Knack returns for his second Major League stint this year and hopefully it goes better than the first. He made his first minor league outing this season in June due to a Spring Training oblique issue and got called up just before the All Star break. He made two relief appearances and struggled, giving up five runs and four homers in five innings over those two outings. He went back to OKC and made two starts, allowing two runs and seven hits over 10 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts and no walks. The bullpen’s been pretty taxed of late and they’re in a stretch of 13 games in 13 days, so having him up as some insurance for Lauer makes a lot of sense.
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First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM PT and will be on SportsNet LA.
