Chase Utley Records 1000th RBI as Dodgers Stay Red Hot Against Royals

He's not batting a thousand, but he did get No. 1000.

Chase Utley reached a milestone, Yasiel Puig homered, and the Los Angeles Dodgers kept on rolling as they finished off the Kansas City Royals, 4-1, on Friday night at Chavez Ravine.

Utley knocked in the 1000th RBI of his career with a double in the bottom of the 8th inning as the Dodgers won their fourth consecutive game.

The Dodgers and Royals have played each other three times in interleague play over the years, but it was the first matchup between the two teams at Dodger Stadium since 2003.

Kansas City scored first on a two-out double by All-Star Mike Moustakas that extended his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games. One batter later, Alcides Escobar singled to center field to give the Royals the first run of the game.

"It was the first time I saw him," Said Moustakas of facing Maeda. "He threw the ball fantastic. It's a good matchup. Days like this you just have to tip your cap to the pitcher."

Moustakas grew up in nearby Chastworth, CA where he was named High School Player of the Year twice in 2005 and 2006 after leading Chatsworth High School to two CIF titles. Moustakas had a lot of friends and family in attendance and you could hear his cheerleading section every time he stepped up to the plate.

"This is my first time back to Dodger Stadium since High School," admitted Moose. "It's cool to come home and get that kind of love in a visiting ballpark, but I've lived here for 28 years so I have a lot of friends and family."

The Dodgers would respond in the bottom half of the fourth as a string of two-out singles by Kenta Maeda, Logan Forsythe, and Corey Seager gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.

Forsythe has reached base safely in 11 of his last 12 games, and is batting .400 with 14 runs, four doubles, one home run and four RBI.

"Logan is a consistent guy who gets on base for us," said Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts about Forsythe. "People are quick to look at his average, but even when he was struggling he got on base. He plays very good defense and has really been a big part of what we're doing."

Puig hammered a 2-2 slider from Hammel 429-feet to left field for his 16^th home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth.

"I think I'm going to hurt my shoulder if I keep going after those sliders in the dirt," joked Puig of all the sliders he swung at from Hammel on the night. "He threw so many in the dirt that one of them had to stay up, and I was able to connect with that one."

Before the game, Puig hung out with former Real Madrid striker and current Bayer Leverkusen star, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, as the Mexican national is rumoured to be headed to Los Angeles for the next MLS season.

"I spent a little bit of time with him, and it was an honor to meet him," said Puig. "I buckled down and made sure I gave him a gift [a home run] for coming and visiting."

Hammel (4-8), took the loss, allowing three runs on eight hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in six innings for the Royals.

Maeda (7-4) got the win, allowing just one run on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts in five strong innings. Over his last 10 starts, Los Angeles is 8-2.

"His stuff had teeth," said Roberts of Maeda's start. "Overall, Kenta threw really well. He kept battling. He was really good tonight."

Utley's 1000^th RBI of his career came on an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning that tacked on an extra insurance run for the Boys in Blue.

That's Chase Utley's 1000th career RBI! ��

He doubles in @yungjoc650 in the bottom of the eighth and the #Dodgers lead, 4-1! #LetsGoDodgers pic.twitter.com/cMJalhcAeR— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 8, 2017

Utley received a standing ovation from Dodgers fans and now ranks ninth on the active list of RBI leaders.

"It was something we in the clubhouse have talked about and were anticipating," said Roberts. "A big hit for us, another RBI, 1000 RBIs, it's a great milestone, but we didn't expect too much emotion from him."

All-Star Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 21st save of the season. 

It was announced on Friday that Alex Wood would be joining Jansen and his fellow Dodger All-Star teammates as Los Angeles will send six different players to the Midsummer Classic for the first time since 1991.

The Los Angeles Dodgers improved to 49-0 when leading after 5 innings.

With two games left before the All-Star break, the Los Angeles Dodgers are currently tied with the 1944 St. Louis Cardinals for the best run differential in MLB history with a mark of +159 before the Midsummer Classic.

Up Next:

Former Padre, Ian Kennedy, starts for the Royals on Saturday opposite Brandon McCarthy who is expected to be activated off the 10-day disabled list in the morning. First pitch is scheduled for 4:15PM PST.