Melendez's Grand Slam Powers Royals to Victory Over Dodgers

MJ Melendez hit a grand slam after a grueling 12-pitch at-bat, propelling the Kansas City Royals to a 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night. Seth Lugo became the first pitcher in the American League to achieve 10 wins this season. Meanwhile, Yoshinobu Yamamoto's start was cut short after just two innings due to tightness in his triceps.

“I made good contact, but I wasn’t sure it was enough,” Melendez said. “It was my first time playing here, so I wasn’t familiar with how the ball travels. I was thrilled when it went over the wall.”

The Royals loaded the bases with three consecutive walks from Blake Treinen. Melendez worked the count to 2-2, fouling off six straight pitches, before Treinen threw a cutter inside on a full count. Melendez launched the elevated cutter over the right-field wall for his first career grand slam, giving Kansas City a 5-2 lead.

Baseball Reference notes that this is only the second time since 1970 that a grand slam has been hit on a full count with at least 12 pitches in the at-bat. The other instance was in 2018 when Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox hit a grand slam on the 13th pitch against Toronto’s J.A. Happ.

Gary Scott of the Cubs also hit a grand slam on a 13-pitch at-bat against Philadelphia's Kyle Abbott in 1992, but it occurred on a 2-2 count.

“Treinen threw a lot of pitches that inning, and I got the benefit of it,” Melendez said. “The more pitches you see, the better advantage you have. I knew his cutter is his go-to pitch, and he didn’t want to walk in a run.”

Treinen threw 39 pitches, 22 for strikes, in two-thirds of an inning, marking his highest pitch count in a relief appearance since throwing 44 pitches for Oakland in a 2018 game against Toronto.

“I felt like the cutter was my most reliable pitch, but it also limited me because I can’t keep throwing the same pitch repeatedly,” Treinen said. “When you walk batters, this league punishes you. Giving free bases always leads to trouble.”

The grand slam provided a much-needed boost for the Royals, who had lost five of their previous six games.

Lugo (10-2) allowed two runs on six hits over six innings. He now leads the AL in innings pitched (97 1/3) and ranks fifth in ERA (2.40). Lugo struck out four and walked one, joining Philadelphia's Ranger Suárez as the only pitchers in the majors with 10 wins.

“It feels amazing. I’ve never reached 10 wins in the big leagues or minors before. I’ve been waiting for this,” said Lugo, who had a career-high of eight wins with San Diego last season.

Yamamoto, who had thrown over 100 pitches in four consecutive starts, had his Thursday start against Texas pushed back for extra rest. He threw just 14 strikes on 28 pitches against the Royals, allowing one hit and one walk with one strikeout.

Yamamoto indicated through his interpreter that he informed the coaches during the game about the tightness, leading to their decision to pull him.

“After the second inning, he felt he could continue, but his triceps tightened up, so we decided to take him out,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

Gavin Lux provided a two-run single with the bases loaded in the fourth inning, giving the Dodgers a temporary 2-1 lead. However, Los Angeles has now lost three of their last four games.