Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman gave his team and fans a major scare on Wednesday night when he tumbled into the Kansas City Royals’ dugout while attempting to make a difficult catch on a foul ball. The first baseman chased the ball into foul territory in the eighth inning before losing his balance and falling into the visiting dugout.
Freeman landed on his side but managed to finish the inning before leaving the game in the bottom of the eighth. The incident came during the Dodgers’ 4-2 victory over the Royals, which completed a three-game sweep for Los Angeles and ended their recent run of poor form.
Chasing a pop foul, Freddie Freeman falls down the stairs and into the dugout in a terrifying moment. Somehow he stays in the game. pic.twitter.com/SfM9IHssrZ
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 13, 2026
Injury Update:Â
“I’m ok; this one’s not my ankle… Everything on my right side is pretty sore.”
After the #Dodgers 4-2 win over the Royals, Freddie Freeman (1-2, BB) talks with the media after leaving tonight’s game with body soreness. pic.twitter.com/TtpsFEWc23
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) August 13, 2026
Shohei Ohtani Homer Helps Dodgers Sweep Royals
Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run homer, while Eric Lauer pitched into the seventh inning as the Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the visiting Royals with a 4-2 victory.
Mookie Betts and Hunter Feduccia also homered for the Dodgers, who swept a series for the first time since June 22-24 at Minnesota. Los Angeles had entered the matchup having lost eight of its previous nine games.
Lauer (7-6) gave up two runs, one earned, on four hits over 6 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out six while throwing a season-high 112 pitches, the most in an outing by a Dodgers pitcher this season.
Josh Rojas and Salvador Perez drove in runs for Kansas City, which has now lost four straight games and is 1-6 since Aug. 6.
In his second start since returning to the rotation, Royals left-hander Daniel Lynch IV (4-4) allowed three runs on three hits over 2 1/3 innings. He struck out three, walked none and threw a season-high 39 pitches.
Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the second inning through Rojas’ RBI single, but Betts quickly levelled the contest with his second home run in as many games and his 15th of the season.
Perez restored the Royals’ advantage in the third with a run-scoring single. The Dodgers responded immediately, with Ohtani launching a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to put Los Angeles ahead for good. His 27th home run of the season also ended Lynch’s outing.
Feduccia, who was reacquired by the Dodgers at the trade deadline, then hit a solo homer to lead off the fifth inning and give Los Angeles a 4-2 advantage.
After Freeman’s departure, Dodgers right-hander Landon Knack, recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City earlier Wednesday, recorded the final eight outs to earn his first save of the season.
(With inputs from Reuters)
