Kansas City jumped ahead in the opening frame when Vinnie Pasquantino drilled a two run homer to right bringing in Maikel Garcia for a 2-0 lead. They added another in the third as Garcia crossed on a fielder’s choice and then padded the advantage to 4-1 in the fifth when Witt Jr. doubled in Michael Massey.
We briefly cut into the deficit in the second inning, when Jo l crushed a 404-foot homer to center after a wild pitch advanced runners into scoring position. Jo has an OPS of .779 and a batting average of .235 this season. Later in the sixth, Neto kept the Halos alive with a two-run blast of his own to right center, trimming the Royals’ lead to 4-2.
While our bullpen stabilized after the early long ball our offense struggled against Michael Lorenzen, who scattered hits and stranded runners across his outing. KC’s bats, meanwhile, capitalized on timely contact and small-ball execution, keeping pressure on throughout.
Samad Taylor grounded out to start the frame but the Royals strung together pressure soon after. Maikel Garcia singled, Bobby Witt walked, and Pasquantino was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Isbel then drew a walk to force in a run extending the Royal’s lead to 5-2.
Then some HOPE. The Angels pulled closer in the eighth thanks to a huge swing from Trout who launched a two-run shot to center to cut the deficit to one. Rengifo kept the inning alive with a single, injecting energy back into Angel Stadium as Los Angeles trimmed the Royals’ lead to 5-4.
Unfortunately, this didn’t lead to anything after the Royals exploded for 4 in the 9th… Royals 9-4.
