Dodgers 4, Royals 2: Eric Lauer delivers 112-pitch gem, Landon Knack saves the pen, Freddie Freeman survives a fall

Chad Moriyama 08/12/2026 Game Recaps Leave A Comment

Following back-to-back rollercoaster wins to start the homestand, things looked like they might repeat early, but once the Dodgers got the lead they didn’t relinquish it this time. That was thanks to Eric Lauer giving exactly what the Dodgers needed and Landon Knack coming through with a multi-inning save to complete the sweep with a 4-2 win over the Royals.

dodgers haven't had a lopsided win (by 5+ runs) since July 19, in the first game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. That's their only blowout win in the last 32 games, during which they've had 5 blowout losses

— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen.bsky.social) 2026-08-13T01:16:36.182Z

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Dodgers starter Eric Lauer was looking to prove the fluke was his last start and not his recent run with the Dodgers,

He started in the 1st by giving up a flared ground-rule double with one out, then hit a batter with two down, and while it took 22 pitches, he eventually got out of it unscathed. Part of that was thanks to a Kyle Tucker sliding catch for the aforementioned second out.

Things looked promising in the 2nd as well when he got the first two, but he issued a walk to speedster Tyler Tolbert after getting ahead 1-2. That immediately cost him when Tolbert stole second and then scored on a Josh Rojas single to make it 1-0 Royals before he was able to end the frame.

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On the other side, the Royals began the game with an opener in lefty reliever Daniel Lynch IV, though he served more like a bulk guy for their pen game in this instance.

After cruising through the first four batter he faced, he then gave up Mookie Betts‘ 15th homer of the year to tie the game up at 1-1 after the 2nd.

That lead unfortunately didn’t last long, as Lauer got the first out of the 3rd and then appeared to get the second on a bouncing grounder he deflected, but Mookie threw it wildly for a two-base error. That cost them immediately when Salvador Perez poked a single against the shift to score a run and make it 2-1 Royals.

Another single followed and things were looking rough, but Lauer really settled in with a couple outs to end the 3rd as a part of retiring 10 in a row (a little defensive flair helped his own cause).

That ended with a walk with two down in the 6th, but he as he crept towards 110 pitches he got a strikeout that I had thought ended his day.

Another quality start when they needed one from Eric Lauer. Labored early and looked at risk of taxing the pen, but locked in and got through 6. Just one earned.

— Chad Moriyama (@chadmoriyama.bsky.social) 2026-08-13T03:52:44.582Z

Nope, he came back out for one lefty to start the 7th, and got a strikeout.

Great job by Lauer again: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 5 K, 112 Pitches.

Landon Knack then entered and started with the second out of the inning, but gave up back-to-back blistered singles to up the tension. Fortunately, he got a nubber to first to end that threat.

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When Lauer (and Knack) left the game, he did so with the lead, as the Dodgers fought back in the 3rd against a continuing Lynch. With one down, Miguel Rojas ripped a double and Shohei Ohtani was all over the first-pitch fastball for his 27th homer of the year to flip the score to 3-2 Dodgers.

That was the end for Lynch, who was replaced with Jose Cuas. He gave up a single to Andy Pages, who then immediately got caught stealing (of course he did), and after a walk he got the final out of the 3rd. He also faced the minimum in the 4th as a lead-off single was erased by a double play.

Fortunately, they got some breathing room in the 5th when Mason Black took over and Hunter Feduccia was able to smack a solo shot for his third of the year for a 4-2 lead.

The tried to add on the 6th with a lead-off single and one-out walk, but couldn’t take advantage of that shot. Well, they got another in the 7th, as a one-out walk to Miguel Rojas was followed by a single from Shohei Ohtani that cornered the runners. Unfortunately, a shallow Andy Pages flyball to right resulted in a double play when Miggy bluffed home and Shohei went for second for whatever reason and got thrown out in a rundown.

Ugh.

They also got nothing in the 8th against Craig Kimbrel after a one-out walk was erased by a double play.

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Meanwhile, Knack continued looking to completely save the pen. In the 8th it looked like disaster struck for multiple reasons, as an infield pop led to a Knack error.

Shortly after, another pop-up, this one foul, almost killed Freddie Freeman.

Just incredibly lucky he seemed alright.

Knack then rebounded with two strikeouts to end the 8th, and then locked down the save in the 9th with a surprisingly easy 1-2-3 frame.

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NL SeedingRecordGB
Brewers74-47–
Braves73-481.0
Dodgers73-481.0

The Dodgers will now welcome the Brewers for a four-game series that has the looks of a playoff preview and will have seeding implications. It’ll start at 4:10 PM HT/7:10 PM PT/10:10 PM ET with Roki Sasaki on the bump against Shane Drohan.

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