Snell Overpowers Royals as Dodgers Win Again
Blake Snell was too much for Kansas City to handle again. The Dodgers left-hander was dominant on Wednesday, and Los Angeles held on for a 5-4 win over the Royals, picking up their second straight win over Kansas City to open the season.
This one didn't come easy. Los Angeles has now beaten Kansas City in two straight tight, low-margin games to open the year, and the pattern held again in this one. The Royals hung around all night before a shaky finish let the Dodgers escape with the one-run win.
Snell was the headline act, turning in a monster outing that netted him 55.7 fantasy points and easily made him the Game MVP. He set the tone early, working through the Kansas City lineup with the kind of swing-and-miss stuff that's made him a nightmare matchup for opposing hitters for years. Whatever traffic the Royals managed against him, Snell found a way to wiggle out of it, and by the time he left the game the Dodgers already had control.
Mookie Betts backed him up with a huge night at the plate, racking up 47.0 fantasy points and doing damage all over the field defensively and offensively. Betts has been the engine for this Dodgers lineup through the first week, and he was at it again here, setting the table and delivering the kind of two-way impact that makes him one of the most valuable players in the sport. Max Muncy chipped in too, adding 16.5 fantasy points with a couple of well-timed knocks, while Alex Call and Teoscar Hernández each contributed in the corner outfield spots, posting 14.5 and 11.5 fantasy points, respectively, to keep the line moving whenever Kansas City's pitching threatened to settle in.
The Dodgers bullpen had to work for this one. Edgardo Henriquez, Alex Vesia and Jack Dreyer all saw time in relief, combining to close it out and protect the one-run cushion Snell and the offense had built. It wasn't always smooth — a 5-4 final tells you the Royals had their chances late — but Los Angeles did just enough to get the final outs and leave with the win.
Kansas City can take some encouragement out of this loss, even if the record doesn't show it yet. Michael Wacha turned in a quality start, posting 31.7 fantasy points on the mound and giving his lineup a chance deep into the game. Jac Caglianone continues to look like a real problem for opposing pitching staffs, putting up 24.5 fantasy points and showing off the kind of power and contact ability that's turned heads early in the year. Tyler Tolbert and Bobby Witt Jr. both factored in at shortstop duties across the lineup card, combining for 19.0 and 16.5 fantasy points, and Salvador Perez continued to be a steady middle-of-the-order presence with 13.5 fantasy points in the DH spot.
The problem for Kansas City is that none of it has translated into results yet. This marks a second straight loss to the Dodgers to open the season, and the Royals will need to regroup quickly. The talent is clearly there. Caglianone looks like a building block, Witt remains one of the most dynamic players in the league, and Wacha gave them length. But two one-run losses to open a long season is nothing to panic about, though it's not the start Kansas City envisioned.
For the Dodgers, the takeaway is simple: this is a deep, dangerous team from top to bottom. Snell gives them a true stopper at the front of the rotation, Betts is playing like an MVP candidate again, and the bullpen — shaky at times — found a way to close the door. Two games in against Kansas City, Los Angeles looks like the team to beat, and the Royals have some work to do to catch up.
Fantasy managers on JockBroker who rostered Snell and Betts got rewarded in a big way tonight, and both look like locks to stay in the lineup card conversation as the season rolls on.
