LOS ANGELES _ Two innings after he snapped an 11-game homer drought with a game-tying blast, Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger finished the job with a walk-off walk in the 10th inning of a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
Bellinger showed patience against Royals closer Kelvin Herrera. His teammates had loaded the bases with three walks against reliever Scott Alexander. With the victory, the Dodgers (60-29) claimed the best record in baseball, capturing a fifth victory in a row despite some hiccups from their pitchers.
On a steamy afternoon at Dodger Stadium, the pitching staff experienced a series of brushfires. Brandon McCarthy logged six useful innings, but still saw his command evaporate in the fifth. Brandon Morrow coughed up a lead in the seventh. And Pedro Baez surrendered a go-ahead homer to Royals catcher Salvador Perez in the eighth.
The home run from Bellinger erased the deficit in the bottom of the inning. It was his 25th of the season. He crushed a changeup from Kansas City reliever Joakim Soria for an opposite-field solo shot.
McCarthy was pitching for the first time since June 25, when he experienced a mysterious disappearance of control. He issued a pair of walks and three wild pitches in one inning against the Colorado Rockies that day. The wildness mirrored his extended bout with "the yips" last summer, a struggle that waylaid him as he returned from Tommy John surgery.
Before his last outing, McCarthy had been one of the team's most reliable pitchers. After the outing, the Dodgers moved swiftly to repair his glitches. He landed on the disabled list with tendonitis in his right knee, a real condition that masked the purpose for his 10 days off. The team wanted him to get right. McCarthy made a four-inning appearance in a simulated setting in class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Monday. The performance convinced the Dodgers he could handle Saturday's game.
Manager Dave Roberts intended to focus on how McCarthy delivered his four-seam fastball and cutter to the outside portion of the plate, known as the glove side. During that outing in Colorado, McCarthy lost the ability to locate the baseball on that side. Roberts stressed that McCarthy's second-inning nightmare against Colorado should not overshadow the rest of his season.
"We know what we have," Roberts said before the game. "Outside of one inning, where there were some misfires, I think the body of work for the first half has been really good."
On Saturday, McCarthy benefited from Kansas City's eagerness to swing. The Royals do not practice much patience. McCarthy finished the first inning in seven pitches. He completed the second in eight. He leaned on his two-seam sinker and curveball, though he did induce a pop-up from Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas on a cutter inside.
Joc Pederson provided a lead in the bottom of the second. Kansas City starter Ian Kennedy had just issued a leadoff walk to Bellinger. Pederson fell behind in the count, 0-2, when Kennedy flipped a curveball over the plate. The pitch dove toward knee level when Pederson swung. He walloped the ball into the right-field seats for his ninth homer of the season.
The Dodgers picked up a third run in the next inning. After singles by Chase Utley and Corey Seager, Justin Turner supplied a sacrifice fly. The offense created cushion for McCarthy, and Pederson helped avoid a meltdown.
McCarthy showed signs of distress in the fourth. He allowed a leadoff single to outfielder Jorge Bonifacio before walking outfielder Lorenzo Cain. He yanked a pair of fastballs to Cain well outside the zone, including a 3-2 heater that forced Cain to lurch backward.
At this point, Pederson intervened. Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer punched a cutter into center for a single. Bonifacio hesitated as he rounded third. Pederson bounced a throw to the plate, where Yasmani Grandal applied the tag.
The throw prevented a run. The Royals kept hacking. Salvador Perez dunked an RBI single in shallow center field, splashing down before second baseman Utley could make an over-the-shoulder catch. McCarthy sat down the next two batters to escape.
The fifth inning was less kind to him. The tempest started with two outs. McCarthy gave up a double to second baseman Whit Merrifield. McCarthy pumped a pair of fastballs inside to Bonifacio. Then he tried a cutter away. The baseball soared past Grandal to the backstop, both a wild pitch and a harbinger.
The next pitch was a fastball, low and inside. Grandal got his glove on it, but it snuck by, a passed ball. Merrifield scored to cut the lead to one. McCarthy lost another pitch inside to walk Bonifacio.
The Dodgers sprung to action. The bullpen stirred to life as pitching coach Rick Honeycutt visited the mound. After a conference, McCarthy was allowed to face Cain. He stuck with his sinker and his curveball, operating on the inner half of the plate. Cain fouled off four pitches before popping up on a curveball.
McCarthy got through the sixth. The bullpen would handle the rest of the game. Morrow fell into trouble immediately. He yielded a leadoff single to shortstop Alcides Escobar and walked pinch-hitter Brandon Moss. A single by Merrifield tied the game. Another from Bonifacio loaded the bases.
Roberts yanked Morrow from the mound. Into the fire stepped Baez. He struck out Cain on a generous called-third strike from umpire Bill Miller. Hosmer grounded out to end the inning.
Baez fared worse in the eighth. Perez cranked a 98-mph fastball over the wall in center to break the tie.
