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Dodgers play the Royals after Muncy’s 4-hit game

By The Associated Press

Los Angeles Dodgers (79-33, first in the NL West) vs. Kansas City Royals (47-68, fourth in the AL Central)

Kansas City, Missouri; Sunday, 2:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Dodgers: Tyler Anderson (13-1, 2.72 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 97 strikeouts); Royals: Brady Singer (5-4, 3.49 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 100 strikeouts)

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Dodgers -257, Royals +210; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Dodgers play the Kansas City Royals after Max Muncy had four hits against the Royals on Saturday.

Kansas City has a 28-34 record at home and a 47-68 record overall. The Royals are 19-9 in games when they hit at least two home runs.

Los Angeles has a 79-33 record overall and a 39-18 record on the road. The Dodgers are 60-7 in games when they have more hits than their opponents.

The matchup Sunday is the third time these teams match up this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Salvador Perez leads Kansas City with 17 home runs while slugging .453. MJ Melendez is 10-for-35 with four home runs and 13 RBI over the last 10 games.

Freddie Freeman has a .320 batting average to rank fifth on the Dodgers, and has 37 doubles, two triples and 15 home runs. Mookie Betts is 16-for-42 with three home runs and eight RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 6-4, .272 batting average, 4.80 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs

Dodgers: 10-0, .303 batting average, 2.20 ERA, outscored opponents by 50 runs

INJURIES: Royals: Taylor Clarke: 15-Day IL (oblique), Edward Olivares: 60-Day IL (quadricep), Angel Zerpa: 60-Day IL (knee), Jake Brentz: 60-Day IL (flexor), Adalberto Mondesi: 60-Day IL (knee), Tyler Zuber: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Dodgers: Andrew Heaney: day-to-day (arm), Yency Almonte: 15-Day IL (elbow), Clayton Kershaw: 15-Day IL (back), Brusdar Graterol: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Daniel Hudson: 60-Day IL (acl), Edwin Rios: 60-Day IL (hamstring), Walker Buehler: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kevin Pillar: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tommy Kahnle: 60-Day IL (forearm), Blake Treinen: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Victor Gonzalez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Danny Duffy: 60-Day IL (hand), Jimmy Nelson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Dustin May: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

How Nationals’ offseason moves set expectations for 2023

By Matt Weyrich
How Nationals’ offseason moves set expectations for 2023 originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonThe rebuild is on in D.C.It’s been a quiet winter for the local nine in the nation’s capital, where the Nationals are coming off a 107-loss season that saw them finish with their worst winning percentage since arriving in 2005. They’ve shuffled some pieces around, added a few free agents on low-risk deals and addressed the fringes of their roster rather than making any splashes.When taken in the context of a rebuild, there are plenty of moves to like. The Nationals made their first Rule 5 selection in 12 years, drafting Red Sox pitching prospect Thad Ward to gamble on a standout from the Arizona Fall League. They claimed former top prospect Jeter Downs off waivers when Boston gave up on him after 41 big-league plate appearances. Jeimer Candelario, signed to a one-year, $5 million deal, is a bounceback candidate only one year removed from leading the majors in doubles.Just how much the Nationals’ on-field product will improve in 2023 likely hinges more on the players they already have. The addition of Trevor Williams (two years, $13 million) should provide some stability their rotation lacked last year and Candelario will likely be an upgrade over the carousel they rolled out at third base, but the rest of the roster is full of young, unproven players the Nationals hope can tap into their potential.Such is the life for a team rebuilding from the ground up, especially one that doesn’t have an established franchise cornerstone to either trade or build around. The Nationals spent the last two trade deadlines unloading the stars who led them to a World Series title in 2019 and converting them into prospect capital.As their lack of spending has shown, the Nationals are content with seeing how those young players develop before jumping into the fray in free agency. Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz, the pitcher-catcher battery that highlighted their return for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, will look to take steps forward in their second full seasons. CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore, the two MLB-ready players from their historic package exchanged for Juan Soto and Josh Bell, should get plenty of run to establish themselves at the big-league level.They won’t be alone, either. Cade Cavalli is expected to join Gray and Gore in the Opening Day rotation. Luis Garcia will hold down second base opposite Abrams up the middle. All three outfield spots are up for grabs between Lane Thomas, Victor Robles, Alex Call and offseason signing Stone Garrett. The bullpen is full of pitchers with intriguing pitch mixes who could be reliable relievers if they can either stay healthy or improve their control (or both).Like it was in 2022, the Nationals’ success next summer won’t be measured by the number of wins they accrue. Even if their young players take a few steps forward, wins against their divisional rivals are going to be just as tough to come by.Washington went 17-59 against the NL East last year, the worst interdivisional record of any team in baseball. And that was before the Phillies signed Turner to a $300 million deal, the Braves traded for one of MLB’s top catchers in Sean Murphy and the Mets doled out over $800 million in free-agent contracts pending the completion of Carlos Correa’s 12-year, $315 million agreement. Even the Marlins signed the underrated Jean Segura to a two-year pact.The Nationals have a long way to go before they’re ready to compete with teams of that caliber, and it’s going to take both internal player development and savvy player acquisitions to get there. They will attempt the latter once the former begins to bear fruit. For now, they’re waiting to see what the next wave of young, Nationals talent looks like.
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