KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals broke through with a decisive fourth-inning surge and leaned on strong pitching to defeat the Los Angeles Angels 6-3 on Friday night.
Kansas City, which had struggled against left-handed pitching early this season, solved Yusei Kikuchi for five runs in the fourth inning to secure its first win against a southpaw after starting 0-6 in those matchups.
Isaac Collins led the way with two hits and two RBIs, helping ignite the Royals’ offense in the pivotal inning. Starling Marte opened the scoring with an RBI fielder’s choice before Collins added another run and later raced home on a two-run double by Elias Díaz. Michael Massey capped the rally with an RBI, giving Kansas City a commanding lead it would not relinquish.
On the mound, Noah Cameron (2-1) delivered his first quality start of the season, allowing three runs on eight hits over 6 1/3 innings while striking out six. The outing continued a strong stretch for Royals starters, who entered the night tied for second in the majors in quality starts.
The Angels showed signs of life in the seventh inning. Zach Neto drove in a run with a single that ended Cameron’s night, and Mike Trout followed with a bases-loaded walk. Jo Adell added another run on a fielder’s choice to trim the deficit to three.
However, that was as close as Los Angeles would get.
Kansas City’s bullpen — including Nick Mears, Daniel Lynch IV, Matt Strahm and Lucas Erceg — combined for 2 2/3 hitless innings to shut down any further comeback attempt. Erceg closed the door in the ninth, striking out two batters to earn his sixth save of the season.
Kikuchi (0-3) took the loss for Los Angeles after surrendering five runs on five hits over five innings while striking out five.
The victory marked a needed breakthrough for the Royals against left-handed pitching and set the tone for the weekend series.
The teams continue the series Saturday with Los Angeles expected to send right-hander Walbert Ureña (0-2, 2.35 ERA) to the mound against Kansas City left-hander Cole Ragans (0-4, 6.00 ERA).